Found this in my collection today that caught my eye. At first it just looks like intentional damage on the obverse right on Lincoln's face. Upon closer inspection though the reverse doesn't seem to show the damage you'd expect to see. It's flat. You can't feel or see any indentation to it. I suppose it's possible someone struck it with a punch while it was laying on a very flat surface, and age has evened out the surface. But the rim doesn't show any damage to it. It's not flattened out like I'd expect if that did happen. What do you think, PMD or struck through?
That none of these have ever been reported, and I can replicate the same thing in my garage. Keep looking tho
The Reverse issue is flat because when the Obverse was hit with a blunt object the Cent was laying flat on a hard surface. So it looks the way it does.
Struck through is not a repeated error like Doubled Dies or Repunched Mint Marks. So I wouldn't expect it to be reported. There's no database of all the possibilities of different foreign objects getting between the planchet and the die.
With the rim of the coin being higher than the fields, and thus supporting the coin on a flat surface, wouldn't you expect it to leave an indentation on the reverse?
I understand what you mean. But it's still not an error. It's was definitely damaged post mint. If you understood the minting process and how coins are made and also how the different mint errors occur then you would know that what you have can't be a mint error.
No. The strike through occurs as the coin is minted. The entire surface of the opposite side is in contact with the die surface and won't be affected. A raised/flattened/damaged area immediately opposite an indent is a key characteristic to show that it IS NOT a strike through. Hope this clarifies things and answers your question
Sometimes we look at our coins and we no it's not normal but as stated there is no way that could happen in the minting process. It is PMD(post mint damage) when I first started and found this coin I thought was minting error, but once I learned the minting process then I new it wasn't. JMO Dave
There's also no database of all the infinite possibilities of Post Mint Damage, of someone creating damage, or created by chance, etc etc etc. It may have not been a punch but as simple as a ball bearing being pressed onto the coin in a press. Thus supporting the backside from creating a large convex area. Of course, as mentioned a Pellet Gun could also do this. Best to try and replicate this many infinite ways to recreate if you have the time and desire. I'm sure if you measure the smooth concave portion, you can determine the size of bearing / pellet that was used.
