“Very mushy details”
The title is from a post on this thread: https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/426807-1987-p-dime-possible-error/. It refers to circulation coins from the 1980s.
A useful answer deserves more than being buried in an obscure spot.
Several factors go into the visual sharpness of a struck coin. The most commonly noted are the pressure used to strike a coin, and the softness of planchets before striking. Softer planchets mean that metal flows better into recesses of dies and this increases the
Here is a more visually oriented approach. (Image profile diagram is exaggerated.)
At upper left is a relief image of the word LIBERTY on a current quarter. Blue indicates lower and red higher relief relative to one another. The thin red diagonal line shows were a detailed measurement was taken.
Upper right is a color image showing a selected relief measured range across the L and I, ending just before the letter B.
At bottom is the measured relief beginning just left of the
