So normally I'd just assume this was PMD but had it not been for the fact that this penny is immaculate. Not a scratch or a scuff on it. No die deterioration or doubling. It's got some water spots but I'm guessing those could come off. Anyway, while I was checking this coin out I did notice a large gaping "scratch" that more resembles a scar on Lincoln's face. This "scar" even seems to be open like a gash on a boxer's swollen face. The scar doesn't exhibit any PMD indications. It's not discolored, it doesn't have any compression or decompression of the surrounding areas. It's not a die crack showing an outward appearance either. So what is this? a giant die marker? from the looks of it I think it a definite possibility that this was on the die and it doesn't seem like it was a foreign object that got lodged in it either. More like a genuine minting error?
How can I discern a hit from a minting strike on a coin? I'm just imagining all the same stuff I would use in a car accident. Paint transfers and object that match indentations as well as ripples and wrinkles and stretch marks, etc etc etc. This being a 2007 copper plated zink would it behave the same way?
Here's some closer shots. The dent above the date is my doing unfortunately but since it's there I figured I'd use it as an example of what I would expect to see when it's a hit. In the hit above the date when whatever hits the penny casing the dent, all the material that was in that dent has to go somewhere, typically speaking it takes the easy route and goes upwards and outwards where there air and not more metal. On the dent above the date, it's right in the field making it easy to see the displacement, I'm trying to see how that displacement took place on the one one the face.
The 'hits' in the field and on his face are the same - contract marks, probably from being in a Ballistic Bag of 400,000 cents.
A “minting strike”?? There’s nothing wrong with experimenting so don’t be afraid to take however many every day coins and trash them. Considering there are countless billions of coins out there, and there’s an infinite number of ways each can be damaged, doing the suggested could be an enlightening experience.
"contract marks" - I remember the good old days when my fat fingers couldn't make this typographical error because it wouldn't print. Why is it that the techno-geniuses think they are making improvements that only make things worse? Chris
