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FEATURES FOUND ON CLASHED MORGAN SILVER DOLLARS


THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORK IS TO PRESENT PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES OF FEATURES THAT CAN BE FOUND ON CLASHED MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR VARIETIES (VAMS). ADDITIONALLY, AN EXPLANATION OF HOW EACH OF THE FEATURES WERE CREATED WILL BE PROVIDED.

There are literally thousands of Morgan Silver Dollar Varieties and the number continues to increase as new Varieties are discovered. Morgan Varieties contain features such as die doubling, die breaks, clash marks, and transferred letters. Some of those features can be quite dramatic. This work covers the features that are created when, during the minting process, a clash event occurs.

Creation of a Clashed Morgan Silver Dollar

Someone new to collecting Morgan Silver Dollar Varieties may have difficulty understanding how a clashed Morgan is created. While clashed Morgans are generally easy to spot, it can sometimes be difficult to grasp the concept of just how these Varieties come into being.

I just think of it as a minting misfire.

One of the last steps in the minting process is the placement of a silver planchet into the steel collar located on the top of the lower Die. Then the upper Die comes crashing down onto the planchet. This causes the metal of the silver planchet to flow into the design of the Dies and a Morgan Silver Dollar is well on its way to being made. The nominal weight of the planchet used to created the Morgan Silver Dollar weighs 412.5 grains or .94285714 of an ounce and looks like a round pizza pan.

A clash event occurs when the silver planchet fails to make it into the collar. When this happens, the upper Die fires down on the lower Die causing damage to both Dies. A part of each Die is impressed into the other, which alters the design of the Dies. The Die damage is seen on subsequently minted Morgans in the form of, but not limited to, clash lines, counter clashes, or transferred letters.

Any number of clash lines can be present on a Morgan Silver Dollar; but, usually not more than three. Please note that each clash line you see represents a separate clash event. Consequently, if you see two clash lines on a Morgan Silver Dollar, the Dies that minted that coin had experienced two separate clash events during the production lifespan of those Dies. However, remember that Dies were subject to repairs that could totally eliminate any sign that a clash event had occurred.

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Topic revision: r11 - 29 Mar 2019, RodMe

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