2009 Typical Die Clash TDC-25C-2009-02DC

Description

Second typical die clash cataloged for the 2009-P District of Columbia quarter, TDC-25C-2009-02DC records a standard die clash event on the quarter honoring the nation's capital. The MadDieClashes designation follows the systematic naming convention: TDC for typical die clash, 25C for the quarter denomination, 2009 for the date, and 02DC indicating the second clash documented specifically for the District of Columbia design. The DC quarter — the first in the 2009 DC & US Territories program — features a reverse designed by Don Everhart depicting Duke Ellington seated at a piano, with JUSTICE FOR ALL inscribed below and DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA above. Typical die clashes occur when obverse and reverse dies strike each other without a planchet between them, transferring mirror-image impressions of each die's design onto the opposing die's surface. On subsequently struck coins, these transferred elements appear as ghost design features — traces of Ellington's piano and the reverse inscriptions appearing as faint outlines on John Flanagan's Washington obverse, or phantom Washington portrait contours emerging on the Ellington reverse. Unlike atypical clashes, typical clashes produce predictable transfer patterns based on the normal centered alignment of the die pair, creating a documented geometry that collectors can reference when identifying clash marks on circulating specimens. Philadelphia produced the District of Columbia quarter as part of the six-design 2009 program, and the high-speed production environment generated the occasional planchet feed failures that permit die-to-die contact. Two documented typical clashes for the DC design indicates at least two distinct die pairs experienced clash events during the production run.

Attribution History

• Discovered by MadDieClashes
• Expert attribution by MadDieClashes

External References