George VI 1 cent errors

[verdigris]

On this coin the obverse-die ear hole left a very flat die clash that drops off abruptly creating a stunning half moon. It also looks as though the die is beginning to chip along the edge of the leaf. Other clash lines are well defined as well, including through the 5, and a die chip to the right under the leaf is evident. What looks like die chips along the stem above the zero is dirt and corrosion enhanced by the extreme lighting. The debris in the incuse above the bud I can't begin to explain. The obverse is free of error.

reverse: die clash under leaf and through date; die chips

[verdigris]

Another example of a nice deep die clash under the leaf and a full crease running the length of the stem from the tip of the bud all the way into the bottom of the leaf. Unfortunately the photos don't show how distinct the actual impression is. Top image points out the three points of contact, the bottom shot reveals a dot near the right-hand clash mark not noticeable in the other pic.

reverse: die clash and dot under leaf

[verdigris]

The last two. Years not yet shown. Other than the 1949 ATD, what remains is 18 die-clashed coins representing 1951 and '52, and an unimpressive '43 with mortar set or accumulations under the leaf. Hopefully I haven't been too repetitive and the photos of acceptable quality under the circumstances. Cheers

1940 reverse: die clash between the bud and stem, and above date



1947 reverse: die clash between the bud and stem

[Lightw4re]

Good pictures! Thx for sharing!

[verdigris]

Thank you Lightw4re. I spoke too soon though. Add another die-clashed 1951 obverse to the pile plus these two. The first; another full lobe clash mark under the ear on yet a different year (1949), and a die-clashed reverse from a 1941 which includes the back and top of the head traced from the leaf, through the 1 and CE. If it goes any further?—that's hard to tell. I've found a couple or so of the other pennies had a mark between the leaf and the 1 (and/or the 1 and the C) but this coin is the best example of the error in my newly-discovered collection of freaks and misfits.

1949 obverse: die clash under ear



1941 reverse: die clashes in incuse under leaf; die clash from small leaf through 1 CE



I'm pretty sure that does it for now.
Cheers

[verdigris]

Still finding them...

This coin shows signs of very serious die erosion throughout the reverse incuse; the obverse is without error and better than VF I'd say. Much worse than the 1953 penny here, this one has wear around the clock and in some areas, on the right hand side in particular, the denticals have almost completely disappeared. As is evident in the photo, the surface of the die (the high areas of the die) show signs of fracturing toward the rim with so much wear that a lot of the relief of the engraver's initials has actually blended into the background as the incuse has risen up around them. In the incuse below the leaf, many clash marks exist near the stems but no marks are visible next to the leaf. This is probably due to there being so much die erosion in this region that they've worn away. Not all shown in the photo are small cracks emanating from the tips of three upper-right leaf points. They didn't photograph well with everything being so rough around them, but at the one point that is in the photo you can just make out a little dagger at the tip. Cheers

[verdigris]

Moving right along with a die crack that I nearly missed. This coin also having the usual die clash mark between bud and stem, and a fair amount of die erosion of the incuse in areas making the surface look grubby. Unfortunately the crack has been worn down from its former glory as this is a spot that gets a lot of rubbing.

reverse: die clash mark along bud and stem; die crack running outward from main point tip of small leaf directly through nearest dentical
obverse: F-12



start and finish:

[verdigris]

Another case of die shift incorporating the obverse inscription (most noticeable in GEORGI and D G REX ET IN), spaces between denticals, and the back of the earlobe and tragus. (Had to look up ear part names for that one)

Die shift description from this website:

When a die is slack, the striking process is functional, but the die is twisted horizontally at the end of the strike. When he goes back up, the die release the twist and push the metal on the side and upward. This type of doubling is especially visible on the letters and numbers, but occasionally on the drawings. When an employee's quality control realizes this, he only tighten the part of the machine that holds the die.

[verdigris]

A penny a little rough around the outer incuse that collected a patina of grime over time to hide its obvious errors. Until now.

reverse: die clash ear-mark from the bud running parallel to the stem, die clash crease line (back of king's neck) from bottom of small leaf curving down in between 9 and 4 of date;



die clash line between N of CENT and large leaf (die clash between small leaf and 1 not shown), die crack from main point of large leaf running diagonally across to dentical then over and out (opposite lighting inset);



die crack starting from tip of 1 curving up in between denticals and out, joined by die crack from top of C;



reverse angle start and end points;



same die crack from 1 and C again, and finally a 4th crack running from main point of small leaf diagonally across to dentical, then up, over and out

[verdigris]

Another die crack, this time on the obverse starting from under King George and shooting straight to the rim. I assume the crack ran through the dentical and out from in between denticals, however, the relief of the crack looks as though it has worn off the dentical so we're left with an incomplete tracing of its path.

obverse: die crack from effigy to rim

[verdigris]

Well, I think I've been through them all. Only five more coins remain, four of which I won't bother posting photos of since they're repeat examples of errors already covered. These are: leaf points starting to show signs of cracking on a die-eroded 1942; a 1952 die-clashed along small leaf stem and under ear on obverse; reverse showing two die clash lines at the bud and spur on a 1940; and a 1946 clashing at the tip of the bud. So finally (and sorry for the poor photos—it was hard to photograph), the last error worth posting:

reverse: die clash crease running from the bud along small leaf stem; 7 in date joined to branch by a die chip; mortar set in and on 4, and to some degree on every letter in CANADA



Years missing from this error set: 1937, 1938, 1939, 1944, 1945. Please add them if you can. Cheers

[Lightw4re]

Good job going through all these coins!

[verdigris]

Thanks Lightw4re. Would you believe I'm not done yet? I'd set this one aside and forgot about it until I was cleaning up. It's a filler. Contaminated blotchy sort of thing on the obverse. Isn't worth a dime. Turns out it makes the cut.

reverse: die clash under large leaf; die clash starting at small leaf running through 3 in date

[verdigris]

When I looked at this one last week I thought it was an eyelash or something. Had to use some pretty harsh reflection to bring it out. This is one of those medium-brown coins that doesn't have much contrast to begin with. Across the reverse, to look at any upper point on the leaves you'd imagine to see cracks everywhere but this is the only one I could push against or see lit from any direction. My guess is it started outward from the leaf then split at 90 degrees both ways. I can't be certain it falls off the edge of the die at both ends and becomes a break, although regardless, it would have eventually. I've pointed to the denticals where it appears that it may have reached and on the right-hand crack at the nearest dentical to the leaf where I'm pretty sure it did.

reverse: die crack(s) from tip of large leaf to edge of die