1857 sixpence

[Nick]

In the attached picture the right hand side of the bar below PENCE is missing. Originally I thought it was most likely a metal lamination fault and the affected part had fallen off during or post minting. However, today I have seen another:

1857 sixpence

It seems unlikely that a lamination fault would occur in the same place. It also seems unlikely that such a large (relatively speaking) part of the die could be completely filled.

Were these sixpences struck from unfinished dies? Or is there another explanation?

[Rob]

In the attached picture the right hand side of the bar below PENCE is missing. Originally I thought it was most likely a metal lamination fault and the affected part had fallen off during or post minting. However, today I have seen another:

1857 sixpence

It seems unlikely that a lamination fault would occur in the same place. It also seems unlikely that such a large (relatively speaking) part of the die could be completely filled.

Were these sixpences struck from unfinished dies? Or is there another explanation?

Good question. I also had one with a fault above the tie knot, which from the discolouration I had put down to someone soldering it to a piece of jewellery or similar. The interesting point is that mine was also 1857, but the mark is in a slightly different place on the two pieces shown being to the left of the bar. The third piece has apparently the same location, but as you say a lamination fault is unlikely. It is possible that there could have been some trapped material which adhered to the die given the identical location from the images. A spanner in the works to this theory is that the dies are different. The clash marks are at different positions on the two reverses and the profile of the 7s appears to be a bit different too.

Edited February 17, 2011 by Rob

[Nick]

I see that there are two Davies varieties of 1857 sixpence. Does anybody have any pictures of the differences between the two?