1945S-1MM-003 RPM#3 Stage B

[ray_parkhurst]

I'm starting to go through the stack of new RPMs I've accumulated but not fully attributed/inventoried over the last several years, and of course the first one I picked up needed further study! The coin is 1945S-1MM-003, Coneca RPM#3, in Stage B. The photo on CC shows what appears to be a hit or possibly MDD on the lower curve. The photo in Wiles' RPM eBook shows "something" going on in that area but it's not clear enough to determine what. The example I have also shows an anomaly there, but it's hard to determine what it is without very high magnification, so I decided to do a 3D rendering of it to see what it would show. The conclusion I make is the lower curve is actually a major pickup point for the variety, not described on either CC or by Wiles. The lower serif is also doubled nicely, and there is clear separation and notching from the two MM punchings. Now I'm wondering if this isn't actually a S/S/S since I can't imagine how the far left portion of the curve could be part of the same secondary punching that caused the lower serif and lower curve doubling.

Here are the photos:

[mustbebob]

That's pretty interesting Ray. I agree with your assessment that the lower area of the mintmark is part of the repunching, and not a hit or MD. You have some beautiful photos there.

I don't quite know what you mean or want when you say the anomaly is

not described on either CC or by Wiles.

but we don't spend a lot of time describing every part of the mint mark when listing these unless the RPMs are so similar that they can not be identified on their own or by mint mark location.
We also need to remember that people will be viewing this with a loupe not a microscope at 200X magnification.
No matter what, I absolutely love your 3D photographs. They are awesome and are an incredible look at things like die deterioration and any nuances of the variety.

[Roller]

Incredible pictures Ray.

[ray_parkhurst]

I don't quite know what you mean or want when you say the anomaly is but we don't spend a lot of time describing every part of the mint mark when listing these unless the RPMs are so similar that they can not be identified on their own or by mint mark location.
We also need to remember that people will be viewing this with a loupe not a microscope at 200X magnification.
No matter what, I absolutely love your 3D photographs. They are awesome and are an incredible look at things like die deterioration and any nuances of the variety.

My point is that I think this is an S/S/S. I believe an overlay (which I still have not mastered...) would show that the "lightly punched extra left curve" is from a separate punching than produced the split lower serif and lower curve, and that this is actually an S/S/S. I can see the extra left curve and split serif coming from one punch, but the lower curve and extra left curve seem mutually exclusive.

Note that the 1MM-003 main photo on CC is excellent, and shows both the lower serif and split on lower curve. It may be that the lower curve split looked so much like a hit that it was interpreted as one and of course not described. It does show up pretty well with a loupe at 14x or 20x, and even better with stereo microscope at 30x, but it has been hard to communicate those kind of details without a technique like I'm showing here.

[jhcons]

Damn Ray, Those are by far some of the best photos I have ever seen. AMAZING!!!

[mustbebob]

My point is that I think this is an S/S/S.

The more I stare at it Ray, the more I can see what you are trying to relay to us. Photos at this level would sure make it interesting to see how many RPMs we list as D/D or S/S may show another punching or two we never thought of.

Would you take a request some time down the road to take photos like this of a specific variety if the coin was supplied to you?

[ray_parkhurst]

The more I stare at it Ray, the more I can see what you are trying to relay to us. Photos at this level would sure make it interesting to see how many RPMs we list as D/D or S/S may show another punching or two we never thought of.

Would you take a request some time down the road to take photos like this of a specific variety if the coin was supplied to you?

Good...so maybe I'm not imagining it! I think this one looked like a hit on the original coin so was not examined more closely. There may be others around in a similar situation. Bob, if you have specific examples you would like imaged like this, I'd be happy to do it. I was thinking about doing a few here and there as time permits, maybe focusing on the LCR top 50 lists. Also, I still have a stack of unattributed RPMs and Doubled Dies that may benefit from this technique to help with identification, or to aid in documenting new listings...Ray

[mustbebob]

Thank you Ray. I do have one variety in mind. I will contact you about it after I move and can find my stuff again.