I'm leaning toward damage with this one but I've never seen it before... I pulled it out of a fresh box of 2021P cents today. When I saw the silver edge, I was hoping for an unplated cent but instead it was this edge where the copper seemed to be "shaved off" for lack of a better word. It was still attached to the coin which I thought was interesting. I'd like your opinions. Has anyone seen this before? Thanks!
Is it possible that the planchet went a little too far into the coining chamber and when the retaining collar moved into place, it shaved the edge off?
furryfrog02, posted: "I've just never seen anything like it." Me either but we know one thing fore 100% sure...the edge was damaged in a way that peeled off the plating, and left a groove with an attached bit of "wire." I believe this happened after the coin was struck normally. I call it edge damage but it's a "keeper!"
Which way do the micro lines travel? If they go across the edge of the coin it may have been done during the striking the coin. If they go around the circumference, it may have been damaged in a coin counting/rolling machine. The bump on the edge in front of Abe's nose looks like a stopping point for whatever scraped the plating away. My two cents is on damage.
I agree with @Insider IMO, it occurred during counting/rolling process at Loomis. After coins are struck, they go into a ballistic bag, fork trucked to the warehouse, loaded onto trucks, transported to the rolling/distribution company, then rolled with automated equipment. What are the chances of a thread of copper plating still being attached after all the vibration and tumbling? Just my opinion. If I got this, I would still hang on to it, and also try to characterize any grooves or scratches on the surface. If it's smooth (and possibly slightly discolored), it could be a plating blister that broke during rolling
I dunno this had to have happened after the strike though not before or during or the loose bits would be strike thoughs. Hung up in the sorting and rolling machine maybe? I can't imagine how this happens pre-strike by the upsetting mill and still looks like that nor can I imagine it happening during the strike. That leaves possibly shearing from the colar during ejection (seems unlikely or I'd think it would be more common to find), or coin rolling machine damage.