I thought it was Mint-caused damage at first, but I think it is actually the markings of a die clash. Look closely in front of Abe, and I am pretty sure those are the spaces between the pillars and the bottom of the Memorial in front of his eyes. Also has a cool reverse side. MS66RD by NGC Am I right or is this simply a case of pareidolia? ~Joe C.
There is something there, just can't tell if it the result of the capped die or if it is a clash. Very cool coin Joe.
It's a clash, but I doubt it's a die cap. Because zinc is a soft metal, a second strike would have effectively erased the incuse bust of Lincoln on the reverse. Instead, this is more likely to be a cupped broadstrike with a first-strike brockage of the obverse design on its reverse face. Its mate would be a double-struck reverse die cap. The two would constitute a cup-and-saucer mated pair. Of course, the grading services call any coin with significant cupping a "die cap".
Depth of cupping is an unreliable diagnostic. When a cent planchet is struck with 38 tons of force out-of-collar on top of a coin that is also unconfined by the collar, expansion and distortion is going to be massive. The top coin will inevitably curl toward the hammer die. The incuse image on the working face of a zinc cent die cap that has struck at least one counterbrockage should be more indistinct (or entirely gone). The vast majority of cupped cents with brockages are cupped broadstrikes generated by a single strike. The evidence for this proposition is abundant: (1) Where are the hundreds of counterbrockages these relatively abundant"caps" are alleged to have struck? (I know of perhaps a dozen) (2) Good luck finding an example of a broadstruck zinc cent with a brockage on its reverse face that isn't cupped (I know of only one). (3) Intact mated pairs featuring a coin like yours always feature a double-struck reverse die cap.
Gotcha. Is this cupped broadstrike example more rare than an actual die cap being it has an obverse design incused on its reverse?
Just the opposite. Zinc cent die caps that have been involved in striking counterbrockages, are much rarer than single-strike cupped broadstrikes with an incuse image of the obverse design on their reverse face. I've only encountered a handful of the former. At the same time, I do find the latter more attractive.