I don't understand how this coin can be so scratched up yet the rim was not affected. Could this be a counting wheel mark?
Looks like PMD or post mint damage .I don't see hairline scratches indicative of counting wheel marks . Counting wheel damage occurs as the coin passes under the counting wheel and usually appears as a highly "buffed" area on the coin.
Nope . . . planchet stock was thinner and striated in this area before strike. Possibly a tapered planchet from uneven calendaring of the coil from which the strip was slit.
That's the first thing that came to mind for me. If the planchet or planchet stock had some damage in the area, the act of going through the upsetting mill and being struck would wipe out damage in the higher rim area while it remains in the field.
It appears to be PMD. I would think if it was on the planchet, the marks would be weaker in the fields. It’s obviously struck by a worn die, evident by the flow lines. It’s not an abraded die because the devices have heavy abrasions. This makes me think that it was some small rotary tool:
What we see in your images is the striated surface of the planchet struck up incompletely where the planchet thickness was less than normal. Because the planchet was unconfined in this area, the surface was not effaced by flowing metal . . . It was lifted instead. Thus, the striations remain. If the coin had been scraped / scratched post strike, the material would have been extruded beyond one edge of the affected letters, and the scratches would not stop abruptly at the edge of the upset rim.
I know die polishing wouldn't normally reach into those crevasses on the dies but I had to risk asking to be sure as these are only photos we're evaluating.
I do agree with ToughCOINS. Damage occurred before strike. What is the coins weight? And what does the reverse look like?
Wise guy. crev·ice /ˈkrevəs/ noun noun: crevice; plural noun: crevices a narrow opening or fissure, especially in a rock or wall. cre·vasse /krəˈvas/ noun plural noun: crevasses a deep open crack, especially one in a glacier.
No. This is still a live one. I still think it's not implausible this happened at the Mint, it's some kind of touch-up.