What caused this damage to a mint-sealed dime?

Poking through some mint sets and found this 1974 P Roosevelt Dime with some interesting damage to the obverse and reverse rims.

Obverse shows 10 indentations from around 3 o'clock down to about 5 o'clock.
Reverse shows what looks like one long straight indentation along the same location (reversed, obviously.)

So, looks like something crimped down on the coin before it was sealed in the plastic (or, honestly AS it was being sealed in the plastic) - so I'm curious what could have caused this - can anyone help me out?

Obverse (entire coin)



Reverse (entire coin)



Closeup of the crimp on the obverse

 

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It looks almost like it matches up with the crimped part of the plastic no? Perhaps the machine that sealed it up?

 

That's what I was thinking, except the plastic doesn't really look damaged at any point. And I don't really know how that tool is shaped, but I think I'd expect it to be shaped the same on both sides, right, or the plastic wouldn't look the same on both sides...but maybe I'm just thinking about it incorrectly.

 

Damage from the plastic when it was sealed.

 

Except for three things (and I'm just hypothesizing here) - first, the plastic around this coin isn't damaged at all, nor is there an impression of the rounded edge of the coin; second, the impressions on the crimped/heat sealed parts of the plastic aren't long like the damage to the coin, they're points not bars; and third, the pressure required to damage the coin's rim like that seems like it would be too high to just heat seal the plastic (you wouldn't need that kind of pressure to melt two pieces of plastic together, would you?)

 

I have seen that issue before. It has also been asked here on CoinTalk before. It is packaging damage.

 

Looks like one of a kind. It has moved around a lot since it was sealed. But, how does the coins get damaged and not the plastic. But, that is the only plausible cause.

 

I can think of one way.. Since these are put together manually the Dime was probably put in another original set.. when it was sealed it became damaged. The person noticed the package was damaged so they took the Dime and placed it in a better looking packaging

 

Very well could have been. It makes sense.

 

I have the picture somewhere of this one in the original SMS packaging before I cut it out to take pictures. I was convinced it was not PMD and some kind of strike through because the cellophane had no damage at all like your 74 dime. When I posted it a couple years back no one could really explain it. Like yours it "probably" received damage during packaging but it would have to have been repackaged. For an SMS coin wouldn't they have tossed it into circulation or something instead of repackaging it? Same with a mint set package, why repackage with a damaged coin? If it was struck through no one would have noticed it...anyway here is mine.

Edit: the damage on the reverse is very similar as well. Almost like more of the edge of the 74 dime was caught in the machine than the 65 cent.

 

hey stldanceartist I'm not sure and someone may have noticed it as well but these marks on your dime tend to curve with the dime. you mentioned in your post that on the reverse it shows what looks like one long straight indentation. is anyone else seeing the curve? may or may not narrow down the possibilities of how this happens.


and the 2 small circle marks at the ends could spread some light on what type of tool caused this damage. hey good luck to ya brother

 

Cool but..
It was already determined that the sealing of mint packaging damaged the cent. I gave my explanation a few posts ago.

 

The coin was laying over the sealing seam, got the damage, and
then shifted into the plastic 'pocket'.

There is only one way this happened, and no need to worry about
narrowing down any possibility of how it happened, or what tool was used.

 

opening and resealing the dime without explanation, not very professional, in my opinion. Good luck

 

What about these things on the reverse?

 

That was my first thought. The employees that are responsible for packaging the coins are responsible for production and quality. The quote above, I am sure, gave the only explanation there could have been. The hows and wheres is another question. How did it happen and where was the correction made and by whom.

 

Paddyman98 and Fred...rise of the Titans...they have spoken..!

 

It clearly is the packaging machinery that damaged it, both front and back. But I don't think it was merely misaligned in the package when it was struck, else there would be melted plastic residue on the coin from the heat sealing process. But if it were out of a package and lying loose when struck and then simply swept into the next package, this is what you would expect. It was only nicked so that the damage may not have been noticed by the workers doing however many thousands of these an hour. Even a later inspector would not easily have caught it.

 

...I was thinking like what Fred said, but Paddyman’s theory is plausible as well...Spark