Strange way to cancel a die. Is it indeed raised??? (As it appears to be) even stranger if was not a cancelled die.
Could it be graffiti? Sometimes when a coin is scratched metal can get moved and make it appear to be raised. I hope it's a die defect though!
I have never seen anything like this before. IMO I would have someone look at it. Heritage Auctions.com is a good place to have it looked at. They won't grade it though. I would go there and they do it for free. Hope this helps.
PMD a knife cut at a low angle forcing the cut area to rise. If cut at 90 degrees the metal would spread left to right. Cutting at a low angle the metal is pushed upwards making it look raised.
After looking at a larger expanded pic, (instead of phone) I agree with paddy54, and nsp above, looks like cut with a blade or similar. IMO.
Well, that is too bad. could have been a possible error coin. I still sudest Heritage Coins for a real opinion. That is what I would do if it were mine.
. Imo I think for the raised amount of material I'm seeing the depth of the cut should look deeper or darker to be a pmd cut.... But now I have my doubts. I'll update once it's in hand next week. If it's pmd by a knife or sharp object it should be pretty clear in hand under a loupe Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It circulated since the cut. That process mashed some of the raised metal back down, lowering the relief and partially covering the gouge created by the cut. It happens to virtually every example we see of this phenomenon, and we've seen hundreds.
What would it hurt to snap a few more pictures taken from various angles and not directly overhead to show what you are seeing? Ohhh, I see, you don't have it in hand.
In hand, held at an angle it's clear. Defiantly damage from a cut. Good thing I purchased it for the toning on the reverse. Thanks for the help/reviews. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Final question - on something like this, would it be better to leave it alone or buff/abrade/whatever the marks out?
If it were me and the X really bothered me I'd probably "fix" the marks by carrying it in my pocket and letting it wear down. Obviously this wouldn't work that well if the scratches were particularly deep, but I think that's probably the only numismatically "legal" way to fix it.
Yeah, I offer the alternative suggestion to buff out the damage and carry it around till it looks better.