1972-D Typical Die Clash TDC-100C-1972D-04

Description

Documented by the MadDieClashes catalog as TDC-100c-1972D-04, this 1972-D Eisenhower Dollar exhibits a typical die clash event — an occurrence where the obverse and reverse dies struck each other without a planchet between them, transferring faint incuse impressions of each die's design onto the opposing die face. The most prominent transferred element on this specimen is what the Ike collecting community calls "The Hair Lip," a clash mark formed where the field and upper portion of the eagle's right wing from the reverse die impressed into the obverse die, creating a raised line across the lower facial area of Dwight D. Eisenhower's portrait. Additional clash marks are visible on the obverse, documenting the transfer of other reverse design elements. Die clashes occur during normal production when the coin press cycles without feeding a blank planchet, and on high-volume denominations like the Eisenhower Dollar, such events were not uncommon across the large die population required for production runs. The Eisenhower Dollar was struck at the Denver Mint in 1972 in copper-nickel clad composition weighing 22.68 grams with a 38.1 mm diameter. Frank Gasparro designed both the obverse portrait of President Eisenhower and the reverse eagle-landing-on-the-moon motif adapted from the Apollo 11 mission patch. The 1972-D had a substantial mintage, and the Ike Group's documentation of clash varieties like TDC-100c-1972D-04 reflects the specialized collecting community that has cataloged die varieties across the entire 1971-1978 Eisenhower Dollar series. The "Hair Lip" nickname demonstrates how Ike collectors have developed their own descriptive terminology for recurring clash mark patterns specific to this denomination's design geometry.

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