Tilted Collar (TCL)

A tilted collar error occurs when the collar die — the ring that forms the coin's edge during striking — is out of level at the moment of the strike, so that it confines the planchet to different heights around its circumference. Where the collar reaches up the full thickness of the planchet, the edge is properly formed and reeding (if applicable) is normal. Where it sits lower, the upper part of the edge was never confined: that metal spreads outward under the strike and leaves a smooth or beveled band above the collar-struck part. Seen face-on, the spread metal can give the rim a flanged look, the "railroad rim" of the hobby, named for its resemblance to a railroad wheel.

Error-Ref catalogs this as the tilted variety of a partial collar — the collar is not at its full height, and because its position is out of true the boundary between the struck edge and the free edge is slanted rather than level. In Error-Ref's words, the tilt "can be so great in some instances as to leave one pole fully in contact with the collar and the other completely above the collar." The two names describe the same failure; "tilted collar" is the hobby's name for its tilted form.

How Does It Happen?

The collar surrounds the lower (anvil) die. At the moment of the strike it must stand at its full height around the planchet, so that the edge is formed evenly all the way around. In some presses the anvil die is fixed and the collar moves up and down; in others the collar is fixed.

Error-Ref gives two reasons a collar ends up only partly deployed, and either can leave it tilted:

• Pushed down: The collar can be depressed part of the way toward the anvil die face by a tight-fitting or poorly centered planchet, backed by the hammer die. If it is pushed down more on one side than the other, it tilts.
• Never fully raised: In presses where the collar moves, its rise can be blocked by a poorly centered coin, or interrupted by debris trapped between the collar and the neck of the anvil die. An obstruction on one side holds that side lower.

The degree of tilt determines the severity of the error. A slight tilt produces a barely perceptible unevenness in the edge. A severe tilt leaves part of the circumference with no collar contact at all.

How to Identify a Tilted Collar

Tilted collar errors display a consistent set of diagnostic features:

• Slanted edge boundary: The defining characteristic. Viewed edge-on, the collar-struck band is wide on one side and narrows toward the opposite side, where the unconfined band takes over. The transition is gradual, following the angle of the tilt.
• Which face it adjoins: Error-Ref notes that in a standard press setup the collar-struck part of the edge lies next to the reverse face, struck by the anvil die; in an inverted setup, where the obverse is the anvil die, it lies next to the obverse.
• Railroad rim: Where the collar was low, metal spread outward beyond the normal diameter, giving the rim its flanged look.
• Bevel and machining marks: Between the collar-struck band and the free band there is often a beveled zone, made by the beveled entrance of the collar, which can carry horizontal machining marks onto the coin's edge.
• Normal design: Unlike a broadstrike, the coin's obverse and reverse designs are fully struck and properly detailed. The collar was present during striking — it was just tilted, not absent.
• Partial reeding: On reeded-edge coins (dimes, quarters, halves, and the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony dollars), the reeding is full where the collar was high and narrows or disappears toward the low side.
• Slightly uneven diameter: The coin is marginally wider at the low side (where metal spread unconfined) and normal-sized at the high side.

Tilted Collar vs. Related Errors

Measuring Tilt Severity

The severity of a tilted collar error is assessed by how far the collar-struck band narrows around the edge, how much of the circumference has no collar contact at all, and how far the railroad rim spreads beyond normal diameter. In the most severe cases, one side is fully reeded and the other completely smooth.

Notable Examples

Roosevelt Dime Tilted Collars

Reeded dimes show the tilt clearly, because the reeding narrows and stops along the slanted boundary. Error-Ref's partial collar examples include a 1996-D dime with a reversed partial collar, struck in a press with the reverse die as the hammer die, and a 1994-P dime whose collar entrance was machined unevenly, giving a wavy ("undulating") boundary.

Washington Quarter Tilted Collars

Error-Ref illustrates a 1978 quarter struck in a severely tilted collar: one side of the edge is fully reeded and the opposite side smooth. Its level partial collar example, by contrast, is a 2000 New Jersey quarter with a bevel above the reeding all the way around.

Kennedy Half Dollar Tilted Collars

The Kennedy half dollar's large diameter makes the slanted reeding boundary easy to see and photograph.

Lincoln Cent Tilted Collars

Modern Lincoln cents (plain edge) show tilted collar errors as a smooth edge that changes height around the coin, with the spread rim on the low side. Because cents lack reeding, the diagnostic is purely the edge and rim profile.

Dollar Coin Tilted Collars

The golden dollars (Sacagawea, Native American, Presidential and American Innovation) are struck in plain collars, so a tilted collar shows on them, as on cents, through the edge and rim profile rather than through reeding. Where these dollars carry edge lettering, it is applied in a separate step after striking, not by the collar.

Collecting Tips

• Severity is what to describe: Record how far the collar-struck band narrows and whether part of the edge is entirely free of the collar, and how far the railroad rim spreads.
• Reeded-edge coins show the error best: Tilted collars on dimes, quarters and halves are easier to diagnose than those on plain-edge cents and nickels, because the partial reeding shows the slant of the collar directly.
• Edge examination is essential: Tilted collar errors are best identified by examining the coin's edge. Rotate the coin slowly and observe the edge profile. A normal coin has a uniform edge all the way around. A tilted collar coin shows a gradual transition from a full collar-struck edge to a free one.
• Distinguish from rim damage: Post-strike damage (dropping, rolling, squeezing) can produce uneven rims. A genuine tilted collar shows a smooth, as-struck surface on the railroad rim with no tool marks, scratches, or impact damage. The extra metal has the same surface quality as the rest of the coin.
• Grading service attribution: Check how a service will label the coin; Error-Ref files the error under partial collar. Because the spread rim projects beyond normal diameter, store examples so that it is protected from contact damage.
• Check for collar damage: Occasionally, a damaged collar — cracked, chipped or broken — also leaves its own mark on the coin's edge. Error-Ref catalogues collar cracks, chips and breaks as separate errors.