Sorry for my ignorance. I'm trying to learn how to grade. I was looking at a 1963 Franklin half, NGC graded "unc details/reverse wheel mark". What's a wheel mark?
I saw it on ebay. There were a batch of NGC "unc details/improperly cleaned", then I saw this one. I don't know what a wheel mark is.
My guess as to cause would be the machine that wraps coins into rolls. The "fingers" that finish the ends of the rolls very often damage the end coin in a circular pattern.
My 2008 mint set came with halves that had 'scrapes' along the face... They are not bag marks or contact marks from other coins. They are pretty obviously machine marks put in place by the coin being in motion. I wonder if these would be called 'wheel marks'? Maybe there is some sort of wheeled mechanism at the mint when moving the finished coins... ??? Since they are mint set coins, there must be something at the end of the process, but before wrapping, right?
Typically, "Wheel Mark" refers to counting wheel mark where the coin was damaged during counting. Your question was answered in the second post. For those that are curious: http://cgi.ebay.com/1963-SILVER-FRA...91?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item1c16e928df
IMO a wheel mark would be a scrape or abrasion (normally curved/circular in shape) on one or more of the coin's surfaces most commonly caused by a counting machine mechanism. It is damage to the coin surface. This damage does not happen at the mint.
That's the one I was looking at!!! Post #2 wasn't quite sure what a wheel was. Now we know for sure. Thanks, guys.