Hello, I am new to CoinTalk. I found a 1991 penny that appears to have some doubling on "United States". I have not seen this before. What's odd is the copper seems to be chipped off in that area. Any advise is appreciated.
Howdy Mark - Welcome to the Forum !! The coin appears to have mechanical doubling, very common and found on many coins.
Welcome man. :thumb: Seems like it is Machine Doubling from my perspective also. Sorry. But keep looking. :thumb: Phoenix
Doubling Thanks for confirming the doubling. I have seen coins that are doubled in this area, but not in the direction of the rim. They are typically indexed to some degree. Also, why would the copper cladding chip off in this area? It's simply just an additional contour. Thanks again for your help.
Machine doubling often occurs when the die is loose and chatters or skips when it strikes the coin. The result is the impression is sheared off slightly along the edge. The copper layer is very, very thin on a modern Lincoln cent. What you are seeing is the zinc core where the copper has been sheared off by the machine doubling.
I realize that modern pennies have a zinc core and the copper coating is very thin. I don’t see how the die could chatter or skip. Once enough force is applied to dent the coin, how could the die move from side to side? If this were possible, wouldn’t there be defects elsewhere? Could it be that once the coin was struck, the die cracked slightly, moved outward slightly and took the copper for a short ride? Is this a common occurrence?
Yes, I thought about that too. So, I guess the blank was not sitting flat and that area was struck first? Thanks for your help everyone.
