1985 Type II Counter Clash CCLTII-1C-1985-01

Description

Discovered by Joe Koelling, this Type II counter clash on the 1985 Philadelphia Lincoln Memorial cent documents an unusual die event in which a foreign object — a piece of metal struck between the dies — transferred design elements onto the die face. The foreign object was imprinted by the E of E PLURIBUS UNUM, then shifted downward to Memorial bays two and three where it impacted the anvil die twice, creating two distinct counter clash images. The bottom of one E is visible toward the top of bay 2, while a second E appears inverted near the bottom of bay 2. Reference photographs document the edges of the foreign object in relation to each transferred E. Type II counter clashes differ from standard die clashes: rather than the dies striking each other directly, an intermediary object carries a design impression from one die and transfers it to the opposing die. The dual impact creating two separate E impressions records two sequential events within a single error sequence. Struck at Philadelphia on copper-plated zinc planchets at 2.5 grams and 19mm from the 1985 mintage of approximately 5.65 billion cents.

External References