Do you wonder if mint employees were aware of errors?

[RWB]

Collectors of 1936-42 proofs know that missing designer initial and others defects are found on the coins. Many have likely wondered if the mint employees making proofs were aware of this or if they simply "pushed the button."

 

Here's an example of what the proof press operator knew. Note that "pieces struck" is not the same as "good pieces" or "pieces sold."

 

 

This is from a recently discovered record book that shows the history of every proof die from 1936-1942. I also have a companion volume that shows every delivery of proof for the same period.

[DaveG]

WOW!

[KeyMan64]

Very cool find, Roger!

[WoodenJefferson]

Was this an *official* Mint record or just an operators ledger? It does represent about half (12K) of the mintage numbers provided for 1942...interesting because you would notice defective coins after the first tray.

[CaptHenway]

Nice find!

 

I wonder if "sunk in center" meant that the die itself was sinking in the center or if they were just getting weak strikes in the center as business strike Walkers were prone to get.

[cpm9ball]

I wonder what "Blanked" meant?

 

Chris

[BillJones]

"Sunk in the Center" might well translate into those Proof Walkers which have Ms. Liberty's hand disappearing into her skirt.

 

That book is a very neat find. (thumbs u

[DWLange]

"Sunk in the center" likely refers to a die that was not properly hardened. This softer portions of the die face would literally sink, leaving an incomplete strike. This was commonplace in the Mint's early years, when both the quality of steel and the means of properly heat treating it were uncertain, but it's surprising to see it happening in 1942.

 

"Blanked" is the Mint's term for die-clashing. This was tolerable for currency strikes, but it marked the end for a proof die, unless the clashing was shallow enough to eradicate through repolishing. Evidently, this was done frequently, as proofs of the period are often seen from dies that were severely polished and had many missing details. The No AW 1941 proofs are perhaps the most glaring examples, but other shallow features were likewise rendered incomplete or missing altogether. Notice that several dies were noted as having lost their AW monogram.

 

Thanks, Roger, for sharing this interesting ledger.

[BillJones]

Now that I have begun to collect more British coins, I see more and more coins with evidence of die sinking, especially on the hammered coinage. Look at the fields on this Edward VI half-sovereign. I have seen this on many coins from this era and later.

 

[RWB]

This little book was kept by the employee responsible for producing the proof coins. The previous facing page is missing.

[physics-fan3.14]

Holy . This is extremely valuable information.

[johnny9434]

cool find

[RWB]

small bump

[coinman1794]

These notes are extremely interesting, because one might be able to collect all the die state varieties that are mentioned.

[messydesk]

I wonder what "Blanked" meant?

 

Chris

Blanked meant clashed. I don't know which term is currently used by the mint, though.

[messydesk]

Looking more closely at the entries, I wonder how successful one would be, given a big pile of 1942 proof halves, at identifying specific dies by number. Would it be possible to put together emission sequences that matched up with the book based on die wear and other markers, or would that be a futile effort?

 

Anyone want to lend me a quarter million dollars worth of proof 1942 halves?

[Lucky One]

Looking more closely at the entries, I wonder how successful one would be, given a big pile of 1942 proof halves, at identifying specific dies by number. Would it be possible to put together emission sequences that matched up with the book based on die wear and other markers, or would that be a futile effort?

 

Anyone want to lend me a quarter million dollars worth of proof 1942 halves?

 

sometimes it is fun to unravel the past, especially when it involves numismatics

[cpm9ball]

Looking more closely at the entries, I wonder how successful one would be, given a big pile of 1942 proof halves, at identifying specific dies by number. Would it be possible to put together emission sequences that matched up with the book based on die wear and other markers, or would that be a futile effort?

 

Anyone want to lend me a quarter million dollars worth of proof 1942 halves?

 

Do you dare to ask the daily interest rate, John?

 

Chris

 

 

[RWB]

The "pieces struck" were made before the defect was identified. That is the context from looking through all the notebook's tables and the book of deliveries.

[coinman1794]

Looking more closely at the entries, I wonder how successful one would be, given a big pile of 1942 proof halves, at identifying specific dies by number. Would it be possible to put together emission sequences that matched up with the book based on die wear and other markers, or would that be a futile effort?

 

Anyone want to lend me a quarter million dollars worth of proof 1942 halves?

 

It is possible to assemble such sets blindly, without Mint records. Having a blueprint from the mint workers who made the coins provides a completely new perspective on the task.