Early Strike
Early Strike. One of the first items struck from fresh dies, usually showing greater sharpness and definition of design before the dies begin to wear. There is no precise limit to the number of pieces classed as early strikes; obviously the first hundred would be so designated, but specimens from the first several thousand could be as sharp and fresh as the first strike. See first strike.
excerpted with permission from
An Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology
For Artists, Makers, Collectors and Curators
COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY D. WAYNE JOHNSON
Roger W. Burdette, Editor