1-The area between the hair and the top of the head is separated with a groove that runs from the front of the forehead and wraps around the back of the head pushing the hair and face apart, on the reverse there is a corresponding discolored arch as if something curved like a clip from another planched damaged the coin and or die by falling in between them. The top of the head is stretched making the head taller. 2- the lips are doubled and the beard is doubled of tripled. 3- the back of the bust is raised higher as is evidenced by the larger wider slope going down to the flat part of the coin. 4- the doubling on the face and the cut through the head makes the head larger than a normal coin. 5- the edges around the collar, and the front of the bust are diffuse making it hard to define the edges with a similar effect all around the coin. The whole coin was covered in green rot so much as to cover most of the bust, head, and face. I didn't look right so I soaked it in mineral oil for a month to get all the crud off so if it was altered it was a long time ago. 6- the lettering around the outside of the coin are intact, so whatever happened to the bust didn't get the edges only the center. - the entire head is larger than a normal.
Also the thickening on the five of the date, and u of trust indicate a doubled die as well. And numerous random die scratches on the upper right in front of the eye.. The more I look the more I see.
That should be the first clue that whatever happened happened post mint. There is no way a hardened piece of metal can grow in the middle (bust) and not change on the lettering. It just cannot happen. Now the "groove" you speak of could well be a die crack. AKA cracked skull. They were very common during this era. However, the rest looks like toning/stain and a hammer. And the 5 is a die chip also very common.
Also "liberty and some if the other lettering was covered in green but look normal when revealed, which discounts rot as the cause of any distortion. What do you see?
The pmd theory would!d work except it doesn't account for the doubling, tripling of the beard, the raised rear of the bust.
you have a severe environmentally damaged coin and nothing else.some of your coins design has rotted away and changed it's appearance , the things you say you are seeing in your third post is just in your imagination.
Here are a few more pics. The arc on the back matches the arc on the front that cuts across the hair. Penny shaped hammer?
