MAD Die Clashes & Other Clashes of Interest

[wavysteps]

Just wanted to let you all know that we (Mike Diamond, Bob Piazza, Jason Culevier and myself) have generated a new web site.

Its primary purpose is to photograph and discuss mis-aligned die clashes. I have also started a side topic concerning the famous mule die clashes of 1857. Once these two topics have been dealt with, we may add more to the site. One suggestion is to show all possible die clashes on each denominational coin. But that is a possibility for the future.

If you do have a mis-aligned die clash, we would be very interested in seeing it for evaluation.

As for the site, it is under construction, but it is opened for public viewing at Maddieclashes.com. So, stop on by and see what is up with this new web site.

BJ Neff

[diamond]

So far I've only loaded the introduction. I will be slowly loading photos. I need to make sure the descriptions are right and the discoverer is properly credited. Here is the intro:

This website is devoted to a short-lived but fascinating phenomenon that appeared on coins in the last decade of the 20th century. From 1992 to 2000 Lincoln cents appeared with radically misaligned, tilted, or pivoted die clashes. These are no ordinary clashes. Misalignments of 40% are common. Almost all show that at least one of the dies was tilted when they collided. There is a curious consistency in the strength, location, and directionality of the clashes. The clashes are generally light and most commonly preserve an impression of the edge of the field portion of the die. Better examples show letter traces just inside the concave ridge that marks the field impression. Oddly enough, actual error coins showing the degree of misalignment documented in these clashes are virtually unknown.

The clashes often are best seen just in front of, and just behind Lincoln’s coat. They are known from the obverse face only, the reverse face only, and both faces. Typically one set of clash marks is preserved, but there is one specimen with three widely separated sets of clash marks.

The peculiar nature of these clashes suggests that they may have occurred before or during installation of the dies. That would also set these clashes apart from conventional die clashes, which occur during a press run when dies fall out of adjustment so that their minimum clearance is reduced to zero. When a planchet fails to be fed into the striking chamber, the dies collide. Conventional die clashes can also be horizontally misaligned or vertically misaligned (tilted) but the misalignment is comparatively modest.

A few 19th century coins (mainly Indian cents) display radically misaligned clash marks, but it’s not clear whether they owe their presence to the same cause as these more recent clash marks. Nevertheless, they will eventually be included in this site.

Collectors of die varieties and die errors should enjoy searching for these radical MAD clashes. Most of the known examples were found by a single individual, suggesting that there are many more examples out there. When you find one, please alert the staff, and we will catalog it, photograph it, and credit you for the find.