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colliewalker1

COIN DIES

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I would be interested to know the significance of specific coin die numbers when attributed to particular coins - are some dies regarded as superior to others and how can the die from which a coin is stamped be known?

Does anyone know how many dies would have been used by the Royal Mint to produce a given coin over the past[ simaltaneously and during that coin's lifetime] and did they wear out quickly?

The production of a coin die must have been very demanding for the engraver - particularly as the metal would obviously have been very hard..... :rolleyes:

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I thought there was just one master die, which the engraver made, and the rest were just cast from it?

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With the introduction of bronze coinage in 1860 they went through dies at a frightening rate.

The Satin reference lists over 60 varieties for 1860-1865 for pennies alone.

They had problems with the design (leading to the change from beaded to toothed border for example), problems with dies wearing out - all sorts.

They also seemed to be hand punching the dates onto the dies - leading to misalignments, wrong numerals being used etc.

There were also 'sloppy' repairs leading to double-punched numbers/letters and the N over sideways N in ONE variety as a specific example.

I suspect things are less chaotic now though.

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With the introduction of bronze coinage in 1860 they went through dies at a frightening rate.

The Satin reference lists over 60 varieties for 1860-1865 for pennies alone.

They had problems with the design (leading to the change from beaded to toothed border for example), problems with dies wearing out - all sorts.

They also seemed to be hand punching the dates onto the dies - leading to misalignments, wrong numerals being used etc.

There were also 'sloppy' repairs leading to double-punched numbers/letters and the N over sideways N in ONE variety as a specific example.

I suspect things are less chaotic now though.

If they were not sloppy, collecting wouldn't be as fun! :D

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With the introduction of bronze coinage in 1860 they went through dies at a frightening rate.

The Satin reference lists over 60 varieties for 1860-1865 for pennies alone.

They had problems with the design (leading to the change from beaded to toothed border for example), problems with dies wearing out - all sorts.

They also seemed to be hand punching the dates onto the dies - leading to misalignments, wrong numerals being used etc.

There were also 'sloppy' repairs leading to double-punched numbers/letters and the N over sideways N in ONE variety as a specific example.

I suspect things are less chaotic now though.

If they were not sloppy, collecting wouldn't be as fun! :D

Or as expensive :)

I'm not complaining though. You're right, it's what makes this era one of the best.

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Date runs would have been easier to complete without all the sloppiness.

I hate coming across date runs where there are tons of minor types varieties (it's what makes me lose interest), yeah you could ignore them but i can't seem to, somehow the collection feels incomplete without them...

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So i hate them but i feel compelled to collect them for the sake of completeness, and i always always loose interest.

Who want 20 types of a coin all of the same date? :rolleyes:

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I wouldn't dream of even trying the 1860-1894 halfpenny series. If I could not fill a date or variety, then I would feel that my collection is incomplete, and I wouldn't appreciate it as much............

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I wouldn't dream of even trying the 1860-1894 halfpenny series. If I could not fill a date or variety, then I would feel that my collection is incomplete, and I wouldn't appreciate it as much............

I'm totally hearing you! :D

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I wouldn't dream of even trying the 1860-1894 halfpenny series. If I could not fill a date or variety, then I would feel that my collection is incomplete, and I wouldn't appreciate it as much............

Are you saying that for any given coin you aim to collect one for each year of issue? Quite a job for Queen Victoria coins! :)

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Are you saying that for any given coin you aim to collect one for each year of issue? Quite a job for Queen Victoria coins! :)

That is the general idea.

Some collect by type, some by date.

For my sixpence collection i'm collecting them by date from 1674-1787, all dates.

(Admittedly the Victorian copper/bronze collector has far more on his hands than i do!)

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I think that I will miss the early victorian bronze, I might just struggle through the copper in years to come!

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