This is a very misunderstood error classification, actually it's NOT even an Error! Often called a Weak strike, Die Setup Strike and the Most numismatically accepted, Die Adjustment Strike.

   But, in reality it is a "TEST" Strike by the Mint Press operator to set up the pressure of the press to obtain an acceptable strike on the planchet. There is a number of reasons through out the history of the Mint explaining why the Press Operator would do this.

Throughout this article and its continuing sequels the title of Die Adjustment Strike will be abbreviated as "DAS."

In this 1st part of this series, lets go back to the mid 1800s. At this time in the history of the Mint, presses were steam operated, many Press Operators were women overseen by male supervisors. The coining planchets were hand fed into a vertical tube leading into the coining chamber of the press where they were struck by the dies. The distance between the dies were adjusted by a press mechanic and this tolerance determined the striking pressure onto the planchet. After the coin was struck they were stacked in wooden boxes and inspected by floor supervisors. If the Press needed to be shut down the operator would stop feeding in planchets into the vertical feeding tube, stop the steam power and apply pressure to a foot brake to stop the motion of a flywheel that supplied the inertia power to the press. Many photo's of this process are available from many different sources. At the ANA Colorado

 Now, to qualify to be a DAS, there must be a weak strike, very little or NO Reeding on a reeded type struck coin. That's because there was insufficient pressure to expand the planchet (metal flow) to fill the collar where the reeding is applied. On non-reeded coins, there will be insufficient forming of the rims and many times the unfinished type 2 planchet shape can still be seen. These are the biggest clues in certifying a DAS, there are a few more involved ways which we will not go into at this time.

SO! how rare are DAS TEST coins? to give you few statistics, there is Only approx. 6-8 known Morgan dollars, 5-7 Peace Dollars, 1 Seated Dollar, 1 liberty 1/2 $, 2 Seated Quarters, 4 Stand. Lib. Qtrs., 2 Barbers dimes, 4-5 Mercury dimes. 1 Large Cent, 2 1943 steel cents, a few modern proofs. Among more recent 20th century coins the numbers increase between 10-50 depending on which denominations be discussed. You'll have to admit, those are some pretty low Populations numbers for these Test coins. As they are becoming more known their prices have soared from any where from $50. for a modern cent to Several thousand dollars for a more sought after type coin.

Next month we will continue our discussion of DAS at the Mint entering the next Century (1900's).

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All content in this newsletter is the opinion of the author and should not be taken as sound investment advice.