Tokens overstruck letters?

[Liam]

I'm just wondering if I can get peoples opinions of whether these letters are struck over another. The first one is the letter A at the beginning of the legend on the obverse of a 1791 Leeds D&H 52 token. The second one is the letter S of the word 'walls' on the reverse of a 1795 Middlesex D&H 985. I'm unsure if they are letters over other letters, recut letters, or just simply flaws in the die. To me, the S looks as though it is over another S.

Cheers

Liam

[Rob]

Letters can be repunched to extend the life of a blocked die. Equally, dies can be polished to remove old detail and a new legend/design entered. Obviously this depends on the depth of the relief, and is mostly restricted to hammered coins. From the advent of milled coins up to the 19th century, it was quite common to fill the old die and punch new letters over the top of the filled section. Depending on how effectively the die was filled, you may or may not see traces of the underlying detail.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Rob

[Liam]

Thanks Rob, an informative reply as always!