PART VI. Striking Errors:
Broadstrike:
Uncentered
Definition: When a planchet is poorly centered and then struck out of collar, it ends up as either an off-center strike or an uncentered broadstrike. To qualify as an uncentered broadstrike, the design must be fully present on both faces. If the design is cut off at the edge on one or both faces, it is an off-center strike.
Various factors determine whether a poorly centered planchet ends up with some of the design cut off at the edge. One factor is, of course, how far to one side the planchet settles. Another factor is the strength of the dies’ impact. A very strong impact will cause significant expansion of the planchet and turn what would ordinarily be an off-center strike into a an uncentered broadstrike. The third factor is the coin’s design. If peripheral lettering is separated from the design rim by a significant gap, it has a greater chance of ending up as an uncentered broadstrike, all other things being equal. Likewise, if the design rim is quite broad, the coin once again stands a good chance of ending up as an uncentered broadstrike, if we control for planchet positioning and striking pressure.
The above images show an uncentered broadstrike that occurred on a 1999(P) Lincoln cent.