+3 Yes, that's an awful gouge. The better question is "how can one tell the difference ?" A gouge moves metal. Some of the metal has to come up above the surface. That's generally not true with a lamination, in which alien metal simply leaves the struck coin. In that case, there is no metal above the original surface, only an incuse void of metal.
Another observation - the gash on your coin reminds me of a water skiier making a hard turn. His ski forms a trough below the water and throws up a plume above the water. Similar thing happened with the OP subject coin.
