Part IV. Die Errors:
Die Damage:
Peripheral Die Damage:
Die Attrition Error
Definition: This is the most recognizable and regular form of peripheral die damage. A die attrition error is generated when a temporarily misaligned hammer die smacks repeatedly against the beveled entrance of the collar. This wears away the edge of the field portion of the die and sometimes the entire rim gutter. This leaves the coin with an unstruck, raised crescent on the face struck by the hammer die. The internal margin of the crescent is smooth. Particularly severe die attrition errors can leave peripheral letters significantly truncated.
Die attrition errors are especially abundant among 1983 cents. A die attrition error
will only be detected after the hammer die has returned to center.
Die attrition errors are sometimes mistaken for cuds (marginal die breaks) and sometimes confused with other, more erratic forms of peripheral die damage and die loss.
The 1991-P quarter shown at upper left displays a severe die attrition error in the northwest quadrant of the obverse face. The letters of LIBERTY are severely truncated.
The reverse face of a 1998-P quarter is shown at upper right. The coin was struck with inverted dies (reverse die as hammer die). The reverse face is nearly encircled by a die attrition error which is visible for about 300 arc degrees. The attrition is most severe in the northwest quadrant. The hammer die could have been rotating while it was experiencing a horizontal misalignment in a consistent direction. It’s also possible that the hammer die (or die assembly) was shifting laterally in many different directions. When this coin was struck, the hammer die had returned to center but was rotated 140 degrees counterclockwise relative to the obverse face. The photo shows the orientation of the reverse face when the coin is flipped from left-to-right, with the obverse design oriented north.
Close-up of the word UNITED, where the tops of the letters have been lost.
Close-up showing the words STATES OF. Die loss becomes gradually less severe as you travel around the perimeter.