i bought a mint roll of unc 56 D lincolns and found about ten of these in it. they fade real quick over the stretch i pulled out of the roll. there is an incuse 9 next to the device. remember, THIS IS INCUSE and on about ten going from strong to weak, so it cant be PMD.
So you have any idea how it got there? Odd error if it's an error. Maybe someone can tell us how it happened.
Interesting anomaly. Unfortunately, I cannot offer an explanation. I will be watching the thread with interest. I will, however, address one point you made. You said it is incuse, so it cannot be PMD. While I agree that the anomaly in question is not post mint damage (the fact that it is present on multiple coins suggests that it is a legitimate error), incuse anomalies can often be post-strike damage, (a coin scratched post-mint, for example) so that comment is not always consistent with certain anomalies on coins.
How many exactley did you find like it? It might be a bunch from the mint un-noticed with that error, but how I do not know.
this may be getting interesting. i was doubtful of it being a dropped letter until about a half hour ago. i feel a little more hope now. http://www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/showthread.php?p=199706#post199706
Seeing the pictures there, I will post the same thing that I posted on the LCR: Since the mintmark is in different locations and the anomaly is consistent, I really doubt that this is a dropped element. What are the chances that it occurred on 3 different dies in the EXACT same place on each die? Not a dropped element IMO.
