1954-s 1do-001, ddo 1-o-ii

[ray_parkhurst]

1954-S Doubled Die Obverse 1DO-001, DDO 1-O-II

[coop]

Interesting lathe lines...

[simonm]

Didn't know we had lathe lines that early? My thought would maybe be concentric die scratches...

[coop]

Die scratches don't usually affect the mid die areas. Lathe lines could. Note the vest/coat.

[simonm]

Die scratches don't usually affect the mid die areas. Lathe lines could. Note the vest/coat.

Good point. Perhaps it is lathe lines. Hopefully someone else chimes in on this one...

[Chugly]

First off, incredible pictures Ray! They really are a treat to look at.

I think the concentric lines are more interesting than the DDO on this one. I am also in the die scratches crowd with Simonm. To me, the fact that they appear on the bust proves they are die scratches not lathe lines. If they were lathe lines, they would be obliterated especially in the bust area as this was among the deepest hubbed areas of the die. I think whatever caused these scratches was just able to reach deep enough to hit that one area of the bust along with the rest of the obverse. Very cool coin no matter what!

[coop]

The die lathe lines are deeper than the design on the mid devices. The fields retain these the strongest. The deeper bust design obliterated the lathe lines with just the mid devices still showing the lines that should have been polished off the stock bar before it should have been used.

[mustbebob]

These are definitely concentric die scratches, and not lathe lines. Lather lines are closer together, and uniform in appearance. In addition, this variety is well known in all grades. These lines disappear with die state. This particular coin is one of the earliest of die state coins I have seen for this variety,

[ray_parkhurst]

Perhaps the die was a bit rusted and the mint techs gave it a "rotating" or "twisting" final sanding prior to hub impressions, creating the concentric scratches. The taller hub devices then obscured the scratches, though since the lowest areas of lapel/jacket are nearly at field level they were not obscured...Ray

PS...I find the small "d" or upside-down "P" to the right of Lincoln's nose interesting. Haven't seen too many scratches like that on other coins...Ray

[jcuve]

For some reason dies in the mid '50s through the early '60s, at times, received a circular polishing. In order to know for sure I had to drop perfect circles on the photos in photoshop to see that there was some subtle irregularities suggesting they were die scratches.