The Modern Die Clash

           This site is dedicated to the many forms of the modern die clash. To understand what this site contains, we must first detail what a modern die clash is.

           The modern die clash is any die clash that has occurred through a mechanical fault. This encompasses all coins from the United States Mint that were produced after the introduction of the toggle press in 1836. While it is conceivable that some die clashes may have occurred due to human fault after 1836, these are included in the modern die clash category as long as the clashes occurred in a mechanical press.

            There are non-mechanical die clashes that did occur before 1836  as well . These clashes are attributed to human fault (dropping of one die on to  another die, non placement of the planchet in the coin press or any other fault where there was not a planchet between the dies in the process of coin making).

             However, interesting as non-mechanical die clashes can be, there is just to much supposition to determine how they were caused. That is why they are not included in this site.

Radical MAD Clashes         

                                                                               by Mike Diamond.

Part of 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 20% and greater 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.  North-to-south offsets of the obverse die relative to the reverse die are most common.  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.  Sometimes they appear on obverse face only, sometimes on the reverse face only, and sometimes on 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 photograph it, catalog it, and credit you with the find.