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Why are some coins more likely to suffer from mint degradation? Discover the secret behind it!
Die Deterioration Doubling (DDD) is a common mint error found on many United States and Canadian coins. It results from the deterioration of the dies used to mint coins, and this phenomenon involves many factors, including improper preparation of the dies, excessive wear, and frequent use. Why are certain coin series particularly prone to mint degradation double shadows?
Causes of cast degradation double shadow
Heat treatment error
During the annealing process of making molds, two main errors can occur, resulting in mold imperfections. These problems are difficult to determine without expensive and time-consuming testing, but the result is that the mold becomes less rigid and more susceptible to rapid degradation.
If the carbon content inside the annealing furnace is insufficient, the steel used in the mold will lose part of the carbon and become soft, forming a thin layer with unqualified surface chemical composition.
Excessive use of molds
In today's coin minting machines, a die can strike about 120 coins per minute. This output makes the die unusable for a long time. In addition, the metal components of today's coins, such as nickel, are very hard and accelerate the wear of the dies. Although copper is widely used because of its ductility, long-term use can also damage molds, especially the “poorman’s double die” in 1955, which is actually just the product of mold degradation double die.
Details are affected as the metal flows over the sharp corners of the mold, gradually disappearing with each impact.
Identification of casting degradation double shadows
Although the cause of cast degradation twins is relatively simple, confirming their existence is more complex. This is because it looks similar to other variants such as hub doubling. Mint degradation doublets are most commonly seen on a coin's date and mintmarks because these details are by themselves within the larger surface.
When observing the affected features, the appearance of this doublet is very irregular and often appears as blurred, swollen, and damaged letters.
Types of cast degenerate double shadows
Casting degradation double shadows are actually divided into two types: Inside Abraded Die Doubling and Outside Abraded Die Doubling. The former is caused by wear on the edge of the mold and often appears as an irregular outer frame. The latter is caused by wear and tear on the high points of the mold and will not overlap the original design.
Impact on coin collectors
When many beginners buy coins, they tend to think that coins with mint-degraded double shadows are very valuable. In fact, the value of these coins is usually only slightly higher than the face value. This common mistake leads many people to believe that this is a rarer and valuable variant. Especially coins like the Jefferson nickel and Lincoln cent, there are a large number of affected coins in circulation.
Although these coins are not currently valuable in circulation, for beginners, they may be full of hope for discovering new types of treasures.
Under these circumstances, should coin collectors be more cautious to avoid missing out on other truly valuable opportunities due to misunderstandings about the uniqueness of coins?
