so i went through some of these coins my grandma brought me and found a weird looking penny that looks to me like a lamination error but i'm not sure because it is circular so i suspect it may be pmd ... tell me what you think http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx131/jon4485/CIMG1878.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx131/jon4485/CIMG1877.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx131/jon4485/CIMG1876.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx131/jon4485/CIMG1875.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx131/jon4485/CIMG1874.jpg
I'm not sure what to say on this one. The laminated parts are plain as day, but all of the appearence of the coin is very mushy. Maybe an error specialist will chime in...
According to the Red Book of 2010, lamination is defined as "a flaw whereby a fragment of metal has peeled off the coin's surface. This defect occurs when a foreign substance, such as gas oxides or dirt, becomes trapped in the strip as it is rolled out to the proper thickness. Lamination flaws may be missing or still attached to the coin's surface." I see evidence of minor lamination in your coin, but it also appears (to me, anyway) that the coin was struck through a LOT of grease. Grease errors occur when lubricating grease gets onto the die surfaces and fills the reliefs. You see this a lot with coin designs that have particularly low or flat reliefs, like the lettering on state quarters. I'm no error expert, but I did read up on these two errors quite a bit when I was younger as I was hoping to find hidden value in my penny jar... :|
I don't think this is lamanation at all. Laminations by nature tend to be in one direction, the direction of the flow of the poorly mixed alloy. To have a lamination error occur all the way around the edge of a coin would be virtually impossible. The odds against it happening that way on BOTH sides of the coin are astronimical. I beliueve that this coin is actually damaged post mint. I believe that this coin has spent some time in a clothes dryer or similar type tumbling machine. At the same time that the edges were beaten and stretched back into the field of the coin the surfaces of the coin were hit and rubbed in such a way that the details were flattened and spread out to give it that "mushy" look. This is just my opinion but I have seen other coins like this one. Richard
This coin seems to have been under great pressure at some point. Everywhere there is a raised element in the design, there has been some flow of material. This is evident below Montecello and in 'doubling' in the lettering. The flow of metal around the edges coincides with the additional raised rim material. I'm certainly no expert, but I would suspect something like it was placed between leather (or similar protective material) and struck with a heavy object (like a sledgehammer). You might check to see if the edge is smooth or sharp where material from the rim might have flowed away from the center.
