For this 5 rand coins from South Africa, there is a mention of 2 varieties: lower date & thinner date.
Can someone cqn help me to identify wich one is my coin, and how to identify it?
I don't agree with the description "thinner and lower" because it seems a bit confusing. Perhaps thinner and thicker would be a better description and from what I see your is the thicker (or lower) date as far as I'm concerned. Look at the difference in the 1. Also the 9's seem to be more filled in. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2234.html
I don't know, my friend. I've collected South African coins for 30 years and I had never heard of this "variation" until it popped up here a few weeks ago. I'm not convinced that it isn't just the result of a worn die.
But for what it is worth, I have noticed a slight variation in the "S" of the ALS signature that seems to correspond to the thicker letters, but my sample set is insufficiently large to be 100% sure. On the coins I've seen that appear to have thicker letters, the "S" is also scrappy. You can see this clearly in the picture on the coin page.
So, perhaps it is a minor variety but I can't bring myself to collect to that level of detail, even for my home country. However, if my theory holds, then yours is a "thin" example.
I have to agree with andrewdotcoza. Personally I have "examples" of both "variation".
However, I do not think it is a recognized variation, more, as was suggested, a worn die, or a coin that was formed under greater pressure making the raised areas thicker.
I will take it under advisement if this is a variation that we will leave on the pages.
