1942-D Merc w/extra material on the reverse

Avago

Hero Member
Jun 26, 2014
814
1,066
The 2nd State
Primary Interest:
Other
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?

20399383_10159080240135298_390421515_o.jpg 20370242_10159080241260298_1101852513_n.jpg
20353995_10159080236905298_1840124723_o.jpg 20424907_10159080236355298_1658916349_o.jpg 20400924_10159080238855298_1499075944_n.jpg
 

huntsman53

Gold Member
Jun 11, 2013
6,955
6,769
East Tennessee
Primary Interest:
Other
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

Silver Member
Dec 2, 2006
2,663
2,001
NEPA
Detector(s) used
Tejon, Cibola, T2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Could it be solder from having been made into a pin?
 

sprailroad

Silver Member
Jan 19, 2017
2,639
4,121
Grants Pass, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Garrett A3B United States Gold Hunter, GTA 1000, AT Pro, Discovery Treasure Baron "Gold Trax", Minelab X-Terra 70, Safari, & EQ 800, & Nokta Marko Legend. EQ 900.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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

Silver Member
Dec 13, 2008
4,373
2,000
St. Augustine, FL
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.
 

OP
OP
Avago

Avago

Hero Member
Jun 26, 2014
814
1,066
The 2nd State
Primary Interest:
Other
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

Silver Member
Jan 4, 2017
4,436
7,560
Western ny
Detector(s) used
equinox 800, Whites mx sport, Garrot carrot, bounty hunter time ranger
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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

Gold Member
Jun 11, 2013
6,955
6,769
East Tennessee
Primary Interest:
Other
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
 

Last edited:

galenrog

Bronze Member
Feb 19, 2006
2,016
2,203
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

Gold Member
Jul 6, 2016
7,576
2,277
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,198
14,506
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Let's see the other side. Maybe it's a 42/41 too! :icon_thumright:
 

seekerGH

Hero Member
Jan 25, 2016
887
570
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I usually look at the wear of the coin in general. The die crack would have worn down first, not the leaves.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Discussions

Top