"A feeder finger grazing a die face will cause die scrapes (or if you prefer, parallel die gouges)". (Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/feeder-finger-error.68938/)
You showed a reference with a raised device. The EPU are recessed into the coin and therefore raised on the die. The area in question is either damage or planchet roughness that wasn't removed from the strike. It is impossible to be a die gouge.
Oops. Thought it was raised. Need to pay closer attention. Time for me to root through the drawer and find a stronger pair of reading glasses. BTW. I like the term "Planchet Roughness". Going to add it to my coin term dictionary.
Yes, it's a hit from another penny during the handling process. The discussion helped a lot! Thanks guys!
What an optical illusion! The signal from my eyes to my brain is that the letters are raised. But they are not. Over time I had forgotten that they are incuse. My mistake.
