1942-D Merc w/extra material on the reverse

[Avago]

Hi everyone, was going through a big batch of junk silver that was part of an old lady's collection and came across this piece in the mix.

It has raised extra material I've never seen. Is there any mint-made error (die crack, die break, etc) that would have caused this? To me it looks like the material is part of the coin and not added but I can't tell for sure. The raised area looks to be worn down from handling. Any ideas?

 

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[huntsman53]

The coin suffered from a severe Die Crack and that Die Crack would have surely caused the Reverse Die to shatter (Die Break) not long after your' Dime was struck. The raised extra metal is from where metal from the coin's planchet flowed into the Die Crack.


Frank

 

[l.cutler]

Could it be solder from having been made into a pin?

 

[sprailroad]

If huntsman is right (and he may very well be) I believe there are collectors that look for "error" coins. You COULD have something special. I myself know very little about them.

 

[Diver_Down]

Huntsman might very well be correct, but in my experience from seeing other examples, it is more likely a result of I.Cutler's response. Many of these were made into pins, and when the pin back falls off, the solder remains.

 

[Avago]

Thanks for the responses! I had suspected a die crack as well, but I've just never seen one so severe. Do you think that if it were solder that the solder would also be made of silver or some other material? I don't want to damage it by trying to test the raised portion if I don't have to.

 

[Tpmetal]

get that baby under a decent microscope to check out how that piece meets the dime. if its solder it should have miniscus like connection at hte edge. if dye crack then it should be able to tell it was puched into the crack not placed on top if you know what i mean. Also to confirm, weigh the dime to see if any extra weight from solder is on.

 

[huntsman53]

Could it be solder from having been made into a pin?

It appears that you are likely correct and I am likely wrong! I assumed that because the extra metal extended all the way to the Reverse rim at 180 degrees, that it was a Die Crack. However, upon a closer look of the pics, the extra metal appears to sit a little lower than the rim and does not flow into the rim uniformly. Since the extra metal and the rim should truly appear as one piece (device) on the coin, it is likely that it is Silver Solder for mounting a pin. My apologizes!


Frank

 

[galenrog]

Could it be solder from having been made into a pin?

This is indeed what happened. I have a few that are very similar, having been made in an identical manner. The scratches on the reverse are also indicative of having been made into a pin. The solder used, because the color matches well to the coin, may well be a silver alloy similar to the coin itself.

 

[13dolphins1]

This is indeed what happened. I have a few that are very similar, having been made in an identical manner. The scratches on the reverse are also indicative of having been made into a pin. The solder used, because the color matches well to the coin, may well be a silver alloy similar to the coin itself.

You can buy silver solder with a lower heating point than the silver in the coin. This is how rings with multiple solder points are made. One would start with a higher solder, then medium and then low. So you don't jeopardize your first solder while doing your last solder. I believe this to be the remnants of a pin.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

[Avago]

Thanks everyone, appreciate the feedback!

 

[cudamark]

Let's see the other side. Maybe it's a 42/41 too!

 

[Avago]

Let's see the other side. Maybe it's a 42/41 too!

Haha, no such luck! Sorted every '42 out and inspected with the loupe. One of these days maybe I'll snag one in the wild.

 

[seekerGH]

I usually look at the wear of the coin in general. The die crack would have worn down first, not the leaves.