1918 wheat penny die error, damage or mule?

Can anyone give me (multiple) second opinions on this 1918 Wheaty I found coin roll hunting. I think it might be a mule but it's hard to tell. Coin is not in the best condition.

Thank you.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Why a mule

 

The perfectly circled ring that looks like a rope on the interior of the wheat ears. It goes practically around the whole coin.

 

Just for the sake of education, I want to propose two scenarios for you:

Scenario #1.... Copper is very soft. Considering the folks in this great nation didn't have televisions, interwebs, cell phones, video games and the like around to amuse them in their free time... Somebody spent a Sunday afternoon engraving the very soft metal that is copper into a one of a kind art project.

Scenario #2.... The US mint produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 290 million cents in 1918. One die had some odd artwork engraved into it by mistake and struck one single cent that found its way into circulation.

Which scenario would you lend more credence to?

 

No mule.. DEFDAM - Definitely Damaged
No a mint error of any kind. Altered post mint.

 

A mule is a coin with a reverse or obverse intended for a different coin. Very rare (probably almost impossible).
This is the only one that comes to mind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Sacagawea_dollar_–_Washington_quarter_mule
(Apparently it's authentic but I still call shenanigans.)
What you have is a wheat cent with a wheat reverse that has been damaged. PMD.

 

First of all; Welcome to Coin Talk Kevin.
As stated above, a mule isn't just different marks on one side of the coin, so NO, it is not a mule, of any kind.
Second; As old as that coins is, and as long as it's been around, who knows what happened to it after it left the mint. It is PMD. My guess is an odd rolling machine left the mark when the coin was at the end of the roll.