Lauren, It would probably benefit you to study the modern minting process. Once you understand how coins are made you should be able to differentiate between a true Mint error and a coin that has been damaged (e.g., a parking lot coin).
They say it was a parking lot coin, I might agree with that one but may put my taste to it. Some kid put gum on his shoes, stuck the coins on his shoe and "skated" around the pavement. Then flipped the coin over and did the same process :devil: Yeah, I agree with the others.
Just for the heck of it, I wouldn't mind seeing a higher resolution image. I know it's PMD, but that date looks like "1548".
Funnily though, i had the same thought as yours.. lol! I know what it felt like, (once you are in the fifth grade, everything that annoys the grown ups is actually synonymous with what we call FUN) lol:devil: ahh good old days,,