Die Clash

In modern currency presses, it is imperative to adjust the minimum distance between the two dies to prevent collisions, even in the absence of a planchet. Nonetheless, incorrect adjustments or malfunctions can reduce the minimum distance to zero, which may result in die collisions if a planchet is not fed into the ferrule at the time of minting. This collision will imprint both surfaces with images of the opposite die, resulting in coins with additional traces in incuse and inverted positions on both sides.

It is critical to replace the dies immediately after a collision to prevent the press from striking further coins with defects. Failure to do so could lead to multiple collisions, depending on the malfunctioning of the press, which may combine with other striking errors like rotated or misaligned collisions. In these cases, the images in incuse and inverted positions will appear displaced, according to the previous incorrect settings of the dies.

When the two dies collide, it is necessary to analyze, extract, and send them to the appropriate office for possible repairs. The repair process involves deep polishing to slightly smooth the surface of the die and eliminate traces of the collision. However, it is important to note that during the polishing operation, there is a possibility of improper polishing, which may result in the reuse of the dies with unpolished surfaces to mint further coins. On the following image, you can admire a magnificent complete split coin planchet after strike (pair from the same coin) from the same collection, separated into two distinct sections after minting. It is possible to find a complete split coin planchet, although it is exceedingly rare.