Question about Roosevelts

[SkyMan]

One thing I've noticed about some Roosevelts is that there relatively often appears to be something going on with FDR's left nostril. Can anyone tell me what this is, and why this is a fairly common occurrence? You'll notice (over time?) it appears to be getting larger. In the first image (of a 1954D), it appears to be a fairly standard die break. In correspondence with someone on the boards, he believes, and it seems logical to me, that the next two examples (1953D and 1949) are of die chips. While I believe this is probably true, I wonder what causes this area to be a die chip magnet? Or do you believe this is something else? Bob Campbell imaged the coins and I think he did an excellent job.

Hmmmmm, I'm trying to figure out how to intersperse images with text.  Does anyone know how to do that on the new boards?  You'll just have to accept that the three pictures are supposed to line up respectively with the three comments, e.g. date/mm and die condition(?).  

Anyhow, what are your thoughts?

 

1954D Die crack;   1953D Die chip?;   1949 Die chip?

 

[physics-fan3.14]

A die chip is just a die crack shaped like a blob. Certain designs are prone to having cracks in certain places, because of where the stress is focused on the die during striking. For example, you'll see a large number of die cracks in the "Liberty" of a Lincoln cent, and you'll see a lot of die cracks at the base of Washington's bust on the quarter. I haven't spent a lot of time looking at Roosevelts, but it would appear that the same effect is occurring on his nose. 

[erwindoc]

I nearly had a whole roll of clad dimes with similar break.  Pretty common location, but I cannot tell you why.

[Conder101]

On 3/25/2017 at 9:30 AM, physics-fan3.14 said:

A die chip is just a die crack shaped like a blob.

1. A die chip is actually a very small die break which is NOT the same thing as a die crack.  A die crack is exactly that,a crack in the die.  All of the metal of the die is still present.  In a die break a portion of the die has actually broken away from the rest of the die so the die is now missing part of the metal that was originally there.  Die cracks and die break are often closely related because the edges along a crack may chip and break away, or cracks may run close enough together that piecesof the die between them may break and fall out.  Also a rim to rim crack can lead to a piece of the die breaking away to form a retained or full cud.

A chip can occur without a crack being present, but it still represents a piece of the die metal being missing, so it is a die break.

[coinman1794]

Chips and breaks occur consistently in certain design elements on certain coins. As others have said, certain parts of the design are susceptible to fracture due to increased stress on those points. On Washington quarters, for example, the eagles head often cracks open, along with the left-facing wing; and Washington's forehead and the base of his neck often develop breaks and cracks, etc.

[physics-fan3.14]

On 3/26/2017 at 8:25 PM, Conder101 said:

1. A die chip is actually a very small die break which is NOT the same thing as a die crack.  A die crack is exactly that,a crack in the die.  All of the metal of the die is still present.  In a die break a portion of the die has actually broken away from the rest of the die so the die is now missing part of the metal that was originally there.  Die cracks and die break are often closely related because the edges along a crack may chip and break away, or cracks may run close enough together that piecesof the die between them may break and fall out.  Also a rim to rim crack can lead to a piece of the die breaking away to form a retained or full cud.

A chip can occur without a crack being present, but it still represents a piece of the die metal being missing, so it is a die break.

I recognize that the terms "crack", "break" and "chip" are used. However, they all seem to be similar to me. Perhaps its a matter of degree - a die crack is a fine line, a die break is a thicker line, a die chip is a blob. A die chip definitely has missing detail. But there is no clear and unified definition or distinction between these items, from what I understand. I've seen "die break" inconsistently used to where it really doesn't carry much meaning. 

To be clear, a retained cud is when there is a die break/crack from rim to rim, but the design elements still show. A cud is when there is a rim to rim break where that piece of die has dislodged to the point where it no longer impresses on the planched.