The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 48, November 25, 2007, Article 14

STRANGE BUT TRUE?  MATHEMETICIAN SAYS CENT'S HEADS SIDE SMALLER THAN TAILS

Regarding last week's item about measurements of the Lincoln
Cent, Dave Lange writes: "It seems quite likely that the U. S.
Mint uses collars the inside diameter of which is not exactly
tangent to its upper and lower faces. A slight taper would
facilitate ejection of the struck coins from the collars and
reduce jamming. Since the reverse of the coins is evidently
the larger diameter, this means that the coins must be ejected
in that direction."

"I don't know whether such a taper to the bore of the collar
was used when coins were struck vertically in the old Bliss
presses. Perhaps, this is something new that dates to the
adoption of the current Schuler presses that strike cents
in a horizontal stroke at a much higher rate than previously.
It would be instructive to undertake the same mathematical
test with uncirculated cents of the 1980s or earlier."

[Now that makes perfect sense!  Thanks - I'm willing to
declare the mystery solved, although it would be interesting
if we could hear confirmation from a U.S. Mint engineer.
From the response the book's author got, it sounds like the
Mint's public relations folks aren't talking with knowledgeable
internal contacts. -Editor]

 STRANGE BUT TRUE?  MATHEMETICIAN SAYS CENT'S HEADS SIDE SMALLER THAN TAILS
 esylum_v10n47a27.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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