I don't know. It looks like something different to me. The ring looks to stay below the lettering. An image that's in focus would help.
Interesting. I would also like to see a better focused pic. Does not appear to have any damage across the letters or numerals. A planchet problem?
I hope this is better. I also have a quarter that appears to have cracks although some marks are wavy. Looks like metal shavings were scattered across blank when pressed.
Without the coin in hand I cannot possibly say what that is at this point. After Larry blew up the photo it does look like a stain but if you say not, you have the coin in hand so it easier for you to see. I suggested Fred as he is a well known error expert and might shed some light on this. You might want to private message him. Your Delaware quarter appears to have clashing but I've never seen one like this.
If you're confident enough to so absolutely dismiss the opinion of an educated man, perhaps you could be so kind as to properly refute it?
Thank you for your input. Another local professional coin dealer had looked at it. He did confirm the texture variance but unsure how it occurred. Under a microscope the varied difference in metal texture does create a shadow effect vs the smooth bright interior surface.
The different texture along the rim looks it was abraded after it left the mint and this seems to me a pretty good explanation.
