Mercury Question?

[bday]

I posted a picture of a 1926 D Merc earlier today. The question that I have is: I have noticed that the reverse side of the dime is off angle from the obverse side. By off angle I mean that reverse side seems to be rotated to the 11 o'clock position in reference to the front side.
Thanks
Bob

 

[dewcon4414]

Sounds like you have an OFF CENTER COIN. If a planchet lies partially outside of the dies during the striking, it receives an off-center strike. Its unique, but not rare since some coin collectors collect them by their "clock" position... ie 3 o'clock position ect. You didnt really ask a question so i assume you wanted to know if it was rare. Most people dont notice these slight position movements unless they collect.

Dew

 

[DirtFlipper]

I think what you're describing is a 'rotated die' variety, where the obverse and reverse are not in the same orientation to each other. This can happen when one of the dies rotates slightly. Very small die rotations can be found, but really big swings in rotation are rare and quite collectible. These are easier to notice when you place the coin inside a cardborad coin holder (coin flip) with the obverse design oriented straight North-South. Then when you flip the holder over, the reverse should be along the same North South line. With a die rotation, instead it will be rotated (usually counter clockwise) by some degree. So yes, instead of 'pointing' at 12 o'clock, pointing at 11.

HH,
DirtFlipper

 

[bday]

Thanks for the info. I only noticed it when I was scanning the back side of the 5 dimes and I thought I wasn't getting that one straight. Every time I scanned it, even though it was in line with the other mercs, it always came out rotated.
Bob

 

[sangamon]

here is one example of a Winged Liberty Dime, rotated die error that i found by Googling "rotated die mercury error"

there are several other examples on the internet. the greater the degree of rotation, the more desirable is the coin to error specialists