ikaros Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 So on a whim I got a roll of nickels to stroll through yesterday. Nothing really extraordinary; I retired a 1955D and a 1960, both in circulated condition. What caught my eye were a pair of 1971Ds, though. If I hadn't had them both at the same time, I wouldn't have noticed, but there's a considerable variation in mintmark placement. Here they are side by side: And here they are superimposed, rotated so everything matches... well, everything but the mintmark. The difference in placement is pretty dramatic: I took a quick look online and don't see any references to 1971 'near' and/or 'far' D -- does anyone know anything about this? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 Nice detective work, ikaros! This is the kind of thread I love to see at Coinpeople.com. A newby will learn about mint mark placements. An intermediate collector would learn how image software can be useful to collectors. And an advanced collector may be intrigued by the die variety and go on a google search of his or her own! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 I think mint marks were first added to hubs in 1990 meaning you won't see variations unless there are multiple hubs. Before that, mint marks were added to dies meaning that each die might be slightly different. Some variations are collectible, others are within range for "normal." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikaros Posted April 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 I guess the question is whether what I found is within limits for 'normal', then. The only other 1971D I have at hand is the one in my folder; it's of what I guess I'd call the 'far D' variety, further from the date and closer to the back of Tom's neck. Three coins doth not a decent sample make, unfortunately. Both the 'far D' versions have heavier mintmarks; they also appear to be in slightly higher relief. The 'near D' is a clearer mark. Anyone got a '71D they want to check? We might be able to get a rough estimate on the relative populations. @deadpoint: It was a spur of the moment thing, I was imaging coins for BPCI and it occurred to me I could directly check how much of a difference in placement there was. I was actually kind of surprised how well everything else fit together -- amazing what you can do with layers in Photoshop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just carl Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 Some of the older coins are much worse with Mint mark placements. Mercury Dimes have them all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saor Alba Posted April 29, 2010 Report Share Posted April 29, 2010 The 1964 and prior dates have the mintmark on the reverse to the right of Monticello(except the War nickels) and when it was there it was pretty static in placement. When they went to the obverse it seems as though placing the mintmark was not so important in placement so, yes, it did tend to travel all over the place. In addition to it travelling around, it varied in size from near microscopic to almost too large. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikaros Posted May 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2010 Well, it's definitely the sort of thing that makes one want to get a great pile of coins and wander through them for a while, looking for examples. I see a couple rolls of nickels in my future for this afternoon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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