DC-25c-2015D-04R(KNF) Die Chip

Description

When a small fragment of die steel separates from the working surface, it leaves a cavity that transfers as a raised bump on every coin struck afterward — the phenomenon cataloged here as DC-25c-2015D-04R(KNF) on the 2015-D Kisatchie National Forest quarter. The (KNF) suffix identifies the specific ATB reverse design: Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana, designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Joseph Menna, depicting a blue heron standing in a wetland landscape with longleaf pines in the background. Die chips are among the most common die varieties, but documented examples with catalog numbers represent verified, repeatable findings. Denver produced this fifth release of the 2015 ATB program alongside Blue Ridge Parkway (NC), Bombay Hook (DE), Homestead (NE), and Saratoga (NY), distributing die wear across five different reverse designs throughout the year. No additional cross-references beyond the Cuds on Coins catalog have been established. While die chips individually carry modest premiums, they serve an important role in die-state research — a chip's presence or absence on a given specimen helps establish when that coin was struck relative to other varieties from the same die, building the chronological die-state narrative that researchers use to reconstruct production sequences.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Alramat on E-bay
• Cross reference: none. Kisatchie National Forest.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References