I purchased this coin some time back from a dealers 1/2 price box and have wondered about it ever since. My question is : could this be the result of some lamination type problem on the coin to lose a plug like this? When I examine the coin, and I am not sure you will be able to see a lot of detail from the pictures, there are some things about the hole that stand out. 1. The hole is not perfectly round. 2. The hole has a taper along the left and upper sides that runs just a bit below the rim of the hole to the floor of the hole. I would suspect that if it was drilled, the taper would go all the way around the hole. Also, the taper appears to be too severe to be a taper from a drill. IMO 3. The floor of the hole seems totally flat. Again, if a drill was used, it seems it would taper to a point instead of being totally flat. IMO 4. I cannot detect a flatness on the reverse that would correspond to someone striking the coin with a punch of some kind. Also, the taper in the hole doesn't seem like it would be cause by a punch. IMO I understand that nickels were prone to laminations...even splitting the planchet. Is it possible this is related to that type of error? Thanks for any imput.
No that is not a lamination. It has been struck with a punch just like you describe. It is not difficult to stop flattening on the reverse, a piece of leather under the coin would do that.
If not a punch it could of been milled , a small round cutter moved a fraction of an inch would or could produce what you have . rzage
