I picked up this 1940-S Mercury Dime PCGS MS66 on an online auction the other day. On the bottom of the obverse there seems to be some weird characteristics that I haven't seen before. It looks like the rim as been smashed into the date somewhat. The same is true on almost the same spot on the reverse. It is so pronounced on the reverse that the TE in STATES has been clearly "smeared" or distorted in some way. Notice the top of the O in OF and how it appears to have been worn or flattened. What do you think? Struck through grease on both sides, misaligned dies, or something else? Is this an error at all and does it command any premium? Thanks.
It's not an error, it's post strike damage. Not sure how it could have happened, it appears to have been deliberate. But the rim in those locations has been ground/filed down.
Im not sure how PCGS would slab this coin as MS66 if it was filed down like that. Seems like it should have been bagged if that was the case.
I tend towards a misaligned die. They weren't perfectly parallel to each other hence that area didn't strike up completely. BOTTOM LINE: No extra value; in fact less value than average for that grade.
I considered it, but even in the first pics I can see scratch marks in the areas affected. Based on the pics I gotta stick with my original opinion.