On to coins… while demand for aerospace metals is extremely weak here at the steel mill, the market for choice pieces of Indian cents and Flying Eagles as well as all denominations is very strong right now. A nice selection of Indian cents will be coming up at the FUN auction, and bidding is expected to be furious.

Last issue’s Ledger featured an 1864 Bronze issue with concentric die lines on Miss Liberty. I had seen this phenomena before, and know of at least two different 1864 BRZ issues with similar lines. I then ruminated on an off-center 1864BRZ I had recently acquired. Ken Hill’s photographs accompany this text. In fact this particular off center is one of my personal favorites. It is extremely far off center showing only the date, the neck of Miss Liberty and a couple of letters from the obverse legend. The reverse shows just the shield and a portion of the wreath. All told it is approximately 75% off center. In addition to this is the fact that it is a choice Mint State example, perhaps MS64RB. Finally another interesting aspect about this find is that it is the concentric die line obverse, showing very boldly on this example. My thinking on the cause of this phenomenon is along the veins of a couple other members.

Prior to any hubbing and with the die in the annealed (fully softened) condition a machinist at the Mint turns down its face, perhaps not perfectly flat but rather slightly coned to better welcome future hubbing. After machining the next operation for each die is a full polishing of the face to remove all the rough tooling lines. Except in 1864 a few dies missed this step. Why? Who knows? It’s anyone’s guess. The unpolished and heavily scored dies go on to hubbing, re-annealing, then date placement, re-hubbing and thereafter a final heat treatment to harden the die for service. But there’s one last step after final heat treatment and prior to service. A finishing polish is put on the die. This time around they didn’t forget it. Does this explain everything we see on these 1864’s? I think so. But a few questions remain.

Why doesn’t the tonnage used for the hubbing fully obliterate the machining scores? Keep in mind the lines are in relief on the die, sunken into the metal. Imagine a freshly poured cement sidewalk that a child has just etched his or her initials into. Now try stomping on them to obliterate any trace—pretty difficult, hey?

Why do the lines stop at the fields and then pick up again on Miss Liberty? The key is the final polish the dies see prior to service. While a hubbing can not eradicate the die lines, a polish can. Polishing removes metal, hubbing pushes metal. And unlike a hubbing which affects the entire surface of the die a polish only affects the highest points, which is the field.

Club articles. I would like to thank Don Haley for his patience on writing up his numismatic biography. Articles such as Don’s make for enjoyable reading and if you know of anyone with an intriguing story, please feel free to write it up. If you need photography for an article you are working on, please contact Ken Hill. He has volunteered to do photography as long as they will be used for an article in the Ledger. He may be reached at:

Ken Hill
P.O. Box 18943
Seattle, WA 98118-0943

The club will pick up the costs other than your postal fees to get the coins to Ken. Ken is an original member who is retired in Seattle and has perfected his skills as a photographer. His prints are professional quality, as good if not better than the major auction houses.