I can't imagine that this is damage from the mint. What would cause this? I have found several strange coins in my hunt these past rolls!
yea it does. Its actually quite pretty with radiating lines obscuring the text. It is like its radiating a sunny glow around Lincoln and his memorial.
Usually I can dissect post mint damage fairly easily. I am like Meow and believe this was somebody art project somewhere along the way. It is certainly damage done after leaving the mint. However damage done to create somebody's piece of art.
Pretty ingenious method of damage. If you notice on the obverse, top right in front of Abe's forehead the copper plating is missing and you can see the zinc. Since it's a 8 micron thin plating all the damage was "pressed" and not via use of a wire brush which would strip the plating. On Abe's lower part of the bust I think I see reverse lettering, from a squeeze job with another coin, and you can see arcs such as from other coins' rims all over that area. Someone really went to town on damaging that cent.
