Parking Lot Ike: Legitimate Mint Error or Bizarre PMD? (Help Needed!)

Discussion in 'Error Coins' started by Brad Miller, Jul 7, 2026 at 6:57 PM.

  1. Brad Miller

    Brad Miller New Member

    Hello everyone! This is my first post here. I just joined today and have already found a ton of useful information roaming around these forums.

    I recently found an Roosevelt dime in, of all places, a convenience store parking lot. I almost walked right past it, but I’m glad I stopped to pick it up because it’s incredibly interesting.

    At first glance, I assumed someone had intentionally damaged the coin with a vise or a shop press. However, the reverse is completely flat and entirely free of the kind of distortion or flattening that a heavy press would leave behind.

    On the obverse, there is a distinct, raised circular area. Right inside this raised section, you can see Roosevelt's ear almost perfectly preserved. The metal in this specific raised area is smooth and shiny.

    I'm trying to figure out if I stumbled onto a rare mint error or if this is just a highly unusual form of Post-Mint Damage (PMD) that I can't quite reverse-engineer.

    I would love to get some insight from the error experts here. Any advice or theories on how this happened would be greatly appreciated!

    Thank you all in advance for your time and expertise!

    IMG_2327.jpg IMG_2328.jpg IMG_2329.jpg IMG_2330.jpg IMG_2332.jpg IMG_2333.jpg IMG_2334.jpg IMG_2335.jpg IMG_2336.jpg IMG_2337.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2026 at 7:23 PM
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  3. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    Hhhmmmm.... I'll await the error pros to render judgment. Just be aware the president rendered here is Roosevelt. Not Eisenhower.
     
    dwhiz, AdamL, fretboard and 3 others like this.
  4. Bill in Burl

    Bill in Burl Collector

    I was gonna say that it looked like a shim for a kitchen chair leg, but I see no wear on the reverse. Maybe still a shim of some sort.
     
  5. SensibleSal66

    SensibleSal66 U.S Casual Collector / Error Collector

    I'm going with PMD. Nothing in the minting process would do this. ;)
    Based on the scratches on the side of the "dome-like" structure. Maybe shim as described. o_O
     
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  6. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

    That is President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

    Hello Brad,
    Your Roosevelt Dime is what I call DEFDAM - Definitely Damaged
    It was altered after it left the US Mint. It is not a known Mint Error of any kind unfortunately.

    Only the person who deliberately damaged it would know how it was done.

    How do I know this? I have 40+ years of collecting, studying and attributing true mint errors.

    Me and many other knowledgeable members on the topic of error coins are here to help.
    So welcome to CoinTalk!
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2026 at 7:39 PM
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  7. Brad Miller

    Brad Miller New Member

    Yes! I feel like a goof.. Roosevelt grrr
     
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  8. Brad Miller

    Brad Miller New Member

    Thank you for the warm welcome and knowledgeable reply. Now that many have said shim, that makes total sense. I appreciate the help :)
     
  9. Brad Miller

    Brad Miller New Member

    Yeah that makes a lot of sense. Appreciate the repy!
     
  10. SensibleSal66

    SensibleSal66 U.S Casual Collector / Error Collector

    Don't worry bout it dude. My wife (as I look around), wasn't sure who was on a George Washington token I showed her, but she knows who is one a one-hundred-dollar bill. :wacky::smuggrin:
     
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  11. Spark1951

    Spark1951 Accomplishment, not Activity

    @Brad Miller I joined in 2017, and several well known members were quick to say: “Coins are minted in finite ways, but PMD has infinite ways to affect them”.

    So, I submit to you to learn the finite methods of coin production, because then it will make it a lot easier to dismiss the infinite ways you find coins with PMD.

    Welcome to Coin Talk!
     
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  12. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Your fine is definitely damaged. The mint could not have produced any coin that looks like that. When you see a coin that makes you ask if it’s an error you should ask yourself how could such a coin be made at the mint.
    Only worth a dime and welcome to CT.
     
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  13. Brad Miller

    Brad Miller New Member

    Well said! And great advice :)
     
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  14. Brad Miller

    Brad Miller New Member

    Thank you for the advice and input! A dime it shall remain.. :/
    And thanks for the warm welcome!
     
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  15. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    I just found out due to your thread that my wife agreed with you. She thought Eisenhower was on the dime. It took my R.S. Yeoman red book to convince her. Lol
     
    Brad Miller likes this.
  16. Brad Miller

    Brad Miller New Member

    HAHAHA.. Love it. I knew better and still put it in ink. Nice to know there are others out there like me :)
     
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  17. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    There are always others, ever when we don’t think there are. Stick around on this web site. You can learn a lot and we have several members that are very good at mint errors. I collect them myself and have posted many of them here from my
    own collection.
    Here’s one of them.
    IMG_0609.jpeg IMG_0610.jpeg
     
  18. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Here are a few more. Hope they help you in understanding mint errors. 09DEFA32-6BF7-4F6F-ACD6-A2F0F93A4288.jpeg 0F14FD61-B1E9-47BC-ADE6-8D3EAB50A297.jpeg 5ABF8490-551D-41A5-8883-28494337FFBD.jpeg EA9F31B3-62C8-4D63-AC64-9EC6D61E50D8.jpeg 1F44F749-4432-46D9-9A5C-19B700A2B163.jpeg
     
  19. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    A zinc cent off center and s nickel off center strike. The half is in incomplete planchet. It is one of my favorite errors as it’s difficult to find something like this on any coin but larger coins like halves, are very tough.
     

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