Die alignment errors

Die alignment errors are a type of coin error that can occur due to incorrect orientation of the dies during the coin minting process. It’s important to note that the orientation of the two sides of a coin is not predetermined by the issue decree issued by the Ministry of the Treasury, unlike other characteristics such as legal weight and alloy composition.

For coinage in Lire of the Kingdom of Italy and the Italian Republic, the orientation of the faces is generally 180 ° (the French axis), while medals have an orientation of 0 ° (the axis at German). To recognize the French axis, one of the two sides of the coin is oriented in the right position (reading order) and then the coin is vertically reversed (not laterally as in the case of medals) to check whether the axis of the opposite face corresponds to 180 °, or in the right position.

The installation of the dies on the money press is a delicate operation, and if it is not carried out wisely, all the coins that are subsequently struck by misaligned dies will have the wrong orientation on one of the two sides.