HI, I have found a couple of 1988 P dimes since this one, but this one is most interesting. I am having it checked out this afternoon. There are NO rub or scratch marks, and the M & E in dime on the reverse are barely visible. The imprint is there but is so slight you have to look closely to see it. I'll repost to let you know what I find out. Please give me your opinions as to what it might be worth...
What you have is called a Struck Through Grease. When a Mint employee cleans a die with a cloth that has grease, it could get released onto certain areas of the Die clogging the Numerals, Letters, Designs. It's a very minor error and a very common find. Definition: The recesses of a die sometimes become clogged with compacted gunk generally composed of a mixture of lubricant, metal dust, and dirt. This material is sometimes called “die fill” but is more commonly referred to as “grease”. Die fill can be coarse or smooth, hard or viscous. It can fill isolated design elements (a “filled die” error) or can coat the entire die face. Coatings are sometimes so thick that the entire design is obscured.
Oh and welcome to Cointalk! If you have any other coins with questions if it's an error or not please post under the Error Coins Forum. You want to know if it's legit first and worry about What's it Worth later. It's worth 10C
that is why it is going to be checked, to make sure it is legit. It also has some doubling on the obverse side.
If you're taking it to a dealer, he/she will probably tell you it is worth 10c. Most coins with design elements missing because it was the result of a grease-filled die are as common as water on this planet. Chris
you guys were right about the filled die, but you might be interested to learn the double on obverse is the L, and it is a double...yeah me, first time ever would take a pic, but my camera will get a close up enough to see the double, sorry bout that
I do have several other coins that I have collected over the years, but most are before 1950, or are from the 1800's, and most are in very good condition they have never been graded though
