DC-25c-2016P-03R(SNP) Die Chip

Description

Third documented reverse die chip for the 2016 Philadelphia Mint Shawnee National Forest quarter, DC-25c-2016P-03R(SNP) follows DC-25c-2016P-02R(SNP) as a consecutive catalog entry for this ATB design. Multiple die chips on the same date, mint, and side indicate that the Shawnee National Forest reverse die design was particularly susceptible to chipping — likely due to specific details in the praying mantis and vegetation motifs that created thin areas of die steel vulnerable to fracture. A die chip occurs when a small piece of the die face breaks away from the working surface. Unlike the large, rim-adjacent breaks that produce cuds, die chips are interior fractures that leave correspondingly smaller raised areas on struck coins. The distinction between the -02R and -03R catalog numbers indicates these chips were found on different dies and at different locations on the reverse. The America the Beautiful quarter program's elaborate pictorial reverses, rich in naturalistic detail, introduced design complexities not present on the simpler heraldic reverse that preceded it. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Sandy Peters
• Cross reference: none. Shawnee National Forest.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References