Either PCGS has lost their minds, or I am even dumber than I thought. Look at the coin, and tell me, how in the world is this graded anything other than body-bagged as damaged? https://www.pcgs.com/cert/47859285 Please someone explain it to me, I honestly need to understand this. p.s. NO, I am not taking about the insane and very likely oven baked toning (is there a doctor in the house?), look again.
We can explain it to you, but we can't understand it for you. You would have to understand PCGS's two unwritten rules: #1 - #2 - So, there you have it!
Not exactly, but you're on the right track. This coin was struck on a planchet that was tapered on the reverse. The upset rim falls away very noticeably in corresponding locations (7:30 & 9:00 obverse and 9:00 & 10:30 reverse). My guess is that this planchet is underweight and, had the submitter properly attributed this coin and submitted it for error service, PCGS would have weighed and attributed it as such.
That area looks awful rough, even for an unstruck (tapered) area of a planchet. Planchets are not smooth, but this is a bit too much roughness. Just my thoughts...
It's pretty hard to explain the tapering in the upset rim without material having been missing before strike, no? As concerns the roughness of the area of concern, I would not expect the surface of the planchet in that area to look normal. Because it is thinner there, it was either not calendered in that area (edge or end of coil), or subsurface grain was exposed after delamination of the planchet and before strike.
Looks like someone had enough of scratching non winning Lotto tickets for Christmas and threw it in the fireplace. That would explain the marks/attribute as well as PCGS. No?
Thank you for the answer. So if this is a legit planchet flaw, how does a TPG go from differentiating this from say, me just dragging the coin on the pavement? Because this is what it looks like to me, road rash.
If this was indeed post mint damage, for the disturbed surface of the planchet to align so perfectly between the points where the upset rim falls away would be an extraordinary coincidence, would it not? Moreover, how does one explain the falling away of the upset rim, if no material was missing when the rim was upset in the first place?
Being a straight graded toner, it might have hurt the value if it was designated as an error (plus cost more to submit it). On the other hand, it would have been less likely that someone would think it was damage (I also originally thought it was damage but your explanation has changed my mind).
That is not what a tapered planchet looks like. That I believe is damage from a sorting and counting machine. It happens when two coins are bound going into the counting chamber. That coin did not leave the mint in that condition. I have a 2001 that has the same damage. PCGS screwed the pooch.
Here it is, quite a bit more circulated, and not photogenic. When I found the coin I thought the same as you that it would weigh less and could be a rough planchet that either didn't strike up well or was light and could be a tapered planchet. This one tedders between 11.29 and 11.3g on the scale. Here is Error ref page on tapered planchets. https://www.error-ref.com/?s=tapered+planchet Also I spent a bit of time looking for a tapered planchet error on a Kennedy half and couldn't find one. I then looked to see what a weak strike (Blakesley effect) looks like on a clipped planchet. I have yet to find with that kind of roughness. Then I went to see what the surfaces of a type 2 blank look like, and none have that roughness. And there are plenty out there with heavily striated surfaces. But nothing that rough. I want to add in a third point. Also, a proto rim from the upset machine cannot form on one side of the planchet and not on the other.