DC-5c-2005D-01R Die Chip

Description

Struck at the Denver Mint during the second year of the Westward Journey Nickel Series, DC-5c-2005D-01R records a reverse die chip on the 2005 American Bison design by Joe Fitzgerald. The Westward Journey program ran from 2004 through 2005, commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition with four special reverse designs — two per year — before the Jefferson Nickel transitioned to its current obverse and Monticello reverse in 2006. The Bison reverse, depicting a full-profile American bison, served during the second half of 2005 alongside the Ocean in View reverse used earlier that year. A die chip on this short-lived design is a product of normal die wear accelerated by production volume; Denver struck tens of millions of Bison nickels during its limited run. The chip itself represents a small fragment of die steel that broke free from the reverse die face, leaving a void that produced a corresponding raised area on every coin struck thereafter. Reverse die chips on Westward Journey issues attract collector attention precisely because the designs were transitional, produced for only a few months each.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Andrew Wojtowich
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References