If all went according to plan, the coins struck by each mint would be identical
throughout in their degree of definition. But, as any collector of uncirculated Morgan
dollars can attest, the sharpness of these coins varied considerably. This variance
occurred in a characteristic manner from one mint to another. For example, New Orleans
Mint Morgan dollars typically are soft at the centers and have strong edge reeding, while
those coined at Philadelphia have sharp central details and mushy reeding. One can
actually feel this difference by handling the coins' edges. Clearly, the movement of metal
was being directed in accordance with differences in round die. The creation of radius
plates went hand in hand with the practice of "basining," which I've described in
previous columns. Basining was the process of giving dies their face polish when being
used for the first time. In fact, the term "basin" often was used interchangeably by Mint
employees to describe the face curvature, or radius. Polishing of a die performed after its
initial use to repair flaws or to extend its useful life is not properly called basining, since
the work was crude and, it may be assumed, was done without a radius plate.
The new, sculpted designs submitted by outside artists beginning in 1907 gradually
rendered both radius plates and basining obsolete. The models as submitted already
included the desired curvature, though the Mint's own staff sometimes had to modify