Q. David Bowers
As a die was used, it became worn. Typically, over a period of time, several things would happen:
1. Minute features of a die's surface-tiny flaws, file marks, light repunchings, etc.-would wear away.
2. Stress marks would appear, most commonly in the form of die cracks, small at first, and usually starting at the border denticles and, over time, extending inward, perhaps joining other cracks.
3. As a die began to fail, the cracks would become larger, and certain areas of the die would begin to sink, often at the centers, resulting in mounds, lumps, or bulges (although sinking could occur at an earlier stage). About this time, the die would be discarded.
For a hypothetical variety of early dollar, a sequence of die states might have a history as this:
DIE STATES:
Die State I: Perfect obverse and reverse dies. No cracks. Die State II: Perfect obverse die. Reverse develops small crack at rim above I of AMERICA.
Die State III: Perfect obverse die. Rim crack at I extends through adjacent R in AMERICA, and continues to touch eagle's wing.
Die State IV: Obverse die crack from rim through the middle of the 2nd star (stars are counted clockwise, beginning at the left of the date), continuing to edge of Miss Liberty's hair. Reverse die as III.
Die State V: Obverse die as IV. Reverse die is cracked across.
Die State VI: Obverse die as IV. Reverse with bulging at center, die cracked across, and several other cracks developing. Latest state of the dies.
When a coin of this variety is found, it may be examined to determine its die state.
Die State I represents the obverse and reverse in the condition when the first coins of the variety were struck. Unless one or both dies were broken before the first coin was struck, Die State I shows no cracks or other breaks. Die. flaws, such as file marks, repunchings, etc., will be sharper in Die State I than in later states.
Die States II, III, IV, etc., represent examples of coins seen in various later stages of the life of the obverse and reverse dies.
While die state information furnishes a handy guide to various steps leading to a die's destruction or abandonment, in practice, dies did not deteriorate in finite steps, but on a continuum. Thus, one might find a coin which has, for example, the reverse die cracked across, plus one tiny die crack developing below the eagle's tail. A check with the listing will reveal that this is between Die State V and Die State VI. You have your choice of simply calling it .Die State V, or being more precise, such as "an intermediate die state between V and VI, showing a small additional crack developing below the eagle's tail." In practice, few cataloguers are this sophisticated. In fact, for expediency's sake, most cataloguers list just the variety and omit the die state. If all minute die states were listed, especially for a variety known to have many cracks in its later states, the listing might well run from Die State I to Die State XX or higher! In practice, only a few intervals are listed.
The die states catalogued by Bolender are often illogical. In general, he endeavored to list as a regular variety the earliest die state he had seen, and then to list significant later states with suffix letters. For example, the earliest state known might be listed as B-10, and a variety with an advanced die crack would be listed as B-10a. Often, B-10 itself would have a die crack. Problems arose when, later, someone discovered a still earlier state of the die, perhaps with a smaller crack than B-10 or with no crack at all. What to call it? Some have suggested B-10c or B-10d, which destroys the logical sequence.
Because of this, I have found it practical to list as Die State I a pair of perfect dies. Then, if such are ever found for our hypothetical B-10, it will be B-10 Die State I. In the meantime, all "regular" B-10 varieties of the type known to Bolender, with a crack, would be called Die State II. If later states are found, they could be called III, IV, etc. Of course, in the actual listings, BB numbers are given in place of Bolender numbers.
Die combinations, called matings or marriages, are the pairing of an obverse die with one or more reverses, or vice versa. If a die was particularly durable, it might outlive two, three, or more mates. One particularly robust reverse die was mated with obverse dies dated 1795, 1796, 1797, and 1798!
In some instances, a die-a hypothetical obverse, for example-was mated with a reverse die, coins were struck, and then it was removed from the die and put in the die vault; let's call these the BB-1 variety. Later, it was mated with another reverse die, and more coins were struck; BB-2. Still later, it was mated with the first reverse die, and additional BB-1 pieces were made; For starters, it is known that varieties BB-1 and BB-2 exist. However, examination revealed that the reverse of certain BB-1 coins were in Die State I, and others were in a much later die state, while BB-2 coins, using the same reverse die, were in an intermediate die state. The only conclusion is that given: BB-1 coins were struck, then BB-2 coins, then more BB-1s.
Research concerning die progression and die states of early dollars is in its infancy. As interest in the series increases, and detailed notes and observations are kept concerning minute die differences, it will be possible to determine in what order many early varieties were struck. There is ample precedent for this in the series of U.S. large cents of the years 1793-1814, which have been analyzed in detail by many specialists over a long period of years.