1996 Atypical Die Clash ADC-10C-1996-02

Description

Cataloged by the MadDieClashes attribution service, ADC-10C-1996-02 documents the second identified atypical die clash on the 1996 Philadelphia Mint Roosevelt dime. The designation follows the standardized naming convention: ADC for atypical die clash, 10C for the ten-cent denomination, 1996 for the date, and 02 indicating the second atypical clash cataloged for this issue. Atypical die clashes occur when obverse and reverse dies strike each other without a planchet between them — a normal die clash — but with a twist: the dies are misaligned, tilted, or partially obstructed during the impact, producing transferred design element impressions in unexpected positions that differ from the symmetrical ghost images created by a standard centered clash. John R. Sinnock's Roosevelt dime design, with the obverse portrait and the reverse torch-and-branches motif, creates distinctive clash transfer patterns where elements of one die's incuse design impress into the opposing die's surface. These transferred impressions then appear as raised anomalous design elements on subsequently struck coins — fragments of the torch or branches appearing on the obverse near Roosevelt's portrait, or traces of the presidential profile emerging on the reverse field. Philadelphia struck approximately 1.42 billion dimes in 1996, a substantial production volume where occasional die clashes were statistically inevitable given the high-speed automated press operations. The atypical designation distinguishes this variety from typical die clashes (which produce predictable, well-documented transfer patterns), making ADC-10C-1996-02 of particular interest to die clash specialists who study the mechanics of die-to-die contact events and the unusual transfer geometries they can produce.

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