PART IV. Die Errors:

Die Damage:

Intentional Die Abrasion:

Thinning and Loss of Design Elements

Definition: The die has been abraded to a point where there is a thinning or loss of some design elements.

The image below shows the loss of low-lying features of Lincoln’s bust on a 1972-D cent. This is caused by over abrading the die.

The image to the left shows a 1984-P Jefferson nickel with thinning of numerals 8 and 4 and almost complete removal of the P-mintmark from over-abrading of the die.

The “Two Feather variety of Indian head nickel was created by abrading the die. The small portion of the third feather, which is seen to the right of the large feather and behind the neck, was lost during the removal of a clash marks. The image to the left (1916 Indian head nickel) shows the “Two Feather” variety, while the image to the right (1918 Indian head nickel) shows the normal 2½ feathers.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

The 3½-legged 1936-D Indian head nickel and the 3-legged 1937-D Indian head nickel both were created by die abrasion. The top image below shows the 3½-legged 1936-D Indian head nickel, while the lower image shows the 3-legged 1937D Indian head nickel.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.