It certainly got mangled. I'll tell you all right off, the consensus of opinion is it's strike doubling. Some strike this was, I'll give it that. Just checking to see if there are any other opinions before I tuck this handsome old gentleman back away. Thanks...
Looks like MD on the date, but I can't tell what's going on with the nose/lips. Lips look like a hit...maybe the nose too, but perhaps the nose was retouched on the working die? Not sure.
Thanks. One thing it’s showing, it’s not the typical outline one would expect, especially when the doubling moves away from the perimeter to the inside where it’s for the most part fainter. Only thing it looks like to me is it took a big jolt in the direction the date and mint mark are showing, which is basically SE to NW. The nose, lips and tie are all cut into very deep, those are no secondary smears. Strike doubling can manifest anywhere, I’m aware of that. This took some serious hop, is all I can figure, and the way it chewed up that date, I’ve not seen. Here it is for the heck of it next to a normal one...
I think you are right about the direction. And it explains the damage to the lips and under the nose (same direction). Big bounce and perhaps the movement is exaggerated by the strength of the strike, the 9 and 3 being very reduced devices. Imagine if it hadn't bounced.
