PART IV. Die Errors:

Die Cracks:

Rim to Rim

Definition: A die crack that extends from one point on the rim to another.  A rim-to-rim die crack can more-or-less bisect the die face.  In that case we can designate it a median or bisecting rim-to-rim die crack.  A rim-to-rim die crack can also be located well off to one side.  In that case we can designate it an asymmetrical rim-to-rim die crack.

The course of a rim-to-rim die crack can be straight, irregular, or curved.

A curved rim-to-rim die crack is sometimes called a “pre-cud die crack” even though there’s no guarantee that it will progress to a cud (marginal die break).

A rim-to-rim die crack will typically show lateral spread, leaving a thin raised line on the coin.  In some cases, a segment of the die crack will exhibit slight vertical displacement. If the entire die crack exhibits vertical displacement, horizontal offset, or a mixture of the two, it is designated a retained cud.

A rim-to-rim die crack can worsen and extend deep into the die neck.  This allows the sides of the crack to spread apart.  If the raised line on the coin is unusually wide, it is usually designated a “split die”.  The threshold separating a rim-to-rim die crack from a split die is subjective and arbitrary.  Mike Diamond considers any split wider than 0.5 mm to be a split die.

The image above of a 1941-S Jefferson nickel shows a bisecting, rim to rim die crack. The die crack wich begins above the B in PLURUBS transits downward through the dome of Monticello and into the field below that building. The termination point of the die crack is through the O in the word OF and into the rim.

For more rim to rim die cracks see HERE