Got this in change over the weekend and it looks weird. The back is normal but the obverse looks like a broad strike? Is this some type of error or am I seeing things?
Looks like a slightly misaligned die. Pretty common, and it doesn't carry a premium unless it's so far out of alignment that it cuts off part of the design. The way to tell the difference between a MAD and an off-center strike is that MADs will only effect one side of the coin.
Is the reeding complete, partial, or completely missing? It would also be nice to know the diameter of the coin at several different points.
The reeding is partial but most of it is weak. I don't have any of the instruments to measure the coin to see how much it is off.
Is it reasonable that this dime was one of the first strikes after the insertion of a new set of dies? And die alignment needed to be adjusted (tilted? centering? pressure? obv/rev spacing? other?) I feel it was sort of a test strike that never should have gotten into circulation. OR Something came loose during the press run and the dies got out of alignment?
Perhaps you could provide some photos accurately depicting how "the reeding is partial but most of it is weak". Sorry, I can't be much help without knowing what the edge looks like & having some accurate measurements of diameter. Please let me know when you can get someone to measure it with a micrometer or calipers. In the mean time, take care of the coin.
I see no evidence that this is anything more than a very common misaligned die. I think we're making too much of this one. http://www.cointalk.com/t71781/ The OP has already stated that the reverse is normal. Classic example of a MAD strike.
