Roller Marks on a 1902-S Morgan Dollar

The roller marks on this lovely 1902-S Morgan Dollar make it easy to visualize how roller marks are caused. The lines extend practically the entire length of the coin, and exhibit the perfectly straight, parallel nature of roller marks. There is no other type of damage to a planchet or struck coin that matches this pattern:

• The lines are long, perfectly straight, and parallel.
• Lines are too deep to be slider marks.
• Lines are too straight, long, and parallel to be cleaning marks, or from something even more random.
• Adjustment marks weren't being made at this time.

These roller marks were probably a bit deeper than normal, but the coin is also a bit soft-struck, both factors of which account for the roller marks appearing so boldly across Miss Liberty's face.