Newman Portal Search: Starburst Effect

Newman Portal Search: Starburst EffectThis week a Newman Portal user searched for the term “starburst effect.”  While Newman Portal searches are anonymous, the search terms themselves are logged. Newman Portal delivers but a single result for this term, but the definition comes straight from the U.S. Mint.  In the Fall 2013 issue of The Centinel, Steve Bieda wrote an important article on U.S. Mint coinage dies produced in conjunction with the 1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta, and, as part of his research, found an 1997 Coin World article explaining the situation. Bieda writes:A vast majority of the Olympic dies sold by the Mint were taken out of service because of what the Mint called “starburst.” “The starburst effect is so named because it looks like a starburst gemstone,” according to George E. Hunter, then assistant U.S. Mint director for process and quality control, in a 1997 Coin World interview. “Its design is radial, though not perfectly radial, and occurs in the direction of the metal flow.” The starburst effect is caused by abrasive particles that build up and then etch the die as they are carried outward from a central point in the direction of metal flow during successive strikes. It was the primary reason for removing most of the dies used to strike proofs, and among the Olympic dies sold to collectors, was the reason more than two-thirds of the dies were taken out of service. “Starburst effect” is commonly seen on U.S. proof coins following the recommencement of proof coinage in 1936. Production techniques improved in time and today anything but a perfect, smooth mirror would be a disappointment.Link to The Centinel on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/513721?page=53