How did this happen? from collect89

I noticed something very unusual while cataloging this 1948 Brazil 20 centavos. What do you think caused this abnormality?

 

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Do you mean how did Groucho Marx get on the coin?

 

I assume you mean the rim on top of the wording "Brasil" (right side of obverse)? No idea how that could happen. No sign of it on the reverse.

 

Here is a Weblink which describes Mr. Rui Barbosa:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rui_Barbosa

I don't have a Weblink that describes the raised metal partially covering "Brazil" on the obverse.

 

Maybe someone was going to make it into a ring by tapping the edge with a spoon or small hammer and decided that it would take too much time? People usually do this with silver coins since they are softer, but I've heard of people doing it with non-silver coins.

 

Well, there is a slight resemblance.

Groucho

 

no, there is no damage to the rim, see the last picture he posted.

 

What do you guys think?

The raised metal partially covering "Brazil" is well above the surface of the coin & the raised metal is also well above the lettering. This raised metal is appears much like a cud error would be raised.

Is it possible that the die was misaligned to the collar & a nice crescent shape got sheared-off from the edge of the die? Subsequent strikes by the damaged die would then result in coins like this one. If this is what happened then this Brazil coin may be a cud error.

 

I'm still curious if anyone has seen this before or has an opinion on the coin.

 

Yes I know what happened. The die was originally misaligned to the right far enough that it was hitting/scraping against the collar. This was not corrected and the edge if the die was worn off down to the middle of the lettering. Then the die was reseated correctly. The result is the thick rim that extends to the middle of the lettering on that side.

 

I concur - it appears to be damage done to the die from striking a collar. After the die was reset, the collar damage would occur along the edge of the coin.

I am curious about how common this error is. Has anyone else seen it on one of these coins, or seen something similar on any other coin?

 

I have not seen it reach so far into the design. This is the first one I've found.

 

As several others have remarked, this is a "die attrition error". At one time the die was misaligned toward the right and smacked repeatedly against the beveled entrance of the collar. This wore away the edge of the field portion of the die and shaved off parts of the peripheral letters. This is the first example I've seen on a foreign coin.