1991 Typical Die Clash TDC-1C-1991-01

Description

Found by Rock Hasenberg, TDC-1C-1991-01 documents a typical die clash on the 1991 Lincoln Memorial cent where the dies contacted each other without a planchet between them, but with a notable complication: a 3-5% rotational offset combined with a 3-5 degree misalignment occurred between clash events, meaning the dies clashed more than once at slightly different orientations. After the clash events, the dies were abraded in an attempt to remove the transferred design impressions — a standard Mint practice to salvage clashed dies rather than discarding them. However, abrading does not always fully eliminate deep clash marks, and the residual impressions that survive the abrading process are what collectors observe on the resulting coins. The dual-event nature of this clash, with rotation and misalignment shifting between contacts, produces a more complex pattern of transferred marks than a single centered clash would create, since design elements from the opposite die appear at two slightly different positions on the affected die's surface. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets composed of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, weighing 2.5 grams and measuring 19mm.

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