While working with some coins for sale, I noticed something that seemed a little strange. This 1971 S Ike Dollar has what appears to be a gouge taken from his ear. I cannot imagine how this happened without damaging the coin further. This coin looks to be,. pretty much uncirculated. Could this be something done by the mint? This inclusion is rather hard to see with the naked eye. Any and all opinions are welcomed.
I agree, it's definitely some kind of damage, but I can't imagine how or where it was done. Ever see anything like this from the mint?
can't really tell whether it was ground or cut. Perhaps a trip to a microscope would answer my question as to how it was done. Worse case scenario, it's worth the silver content. Thanks.
Good answer Robert, that's more likely than someone with a Dremel tool. Even a coin edge hit seems to be extremely rare to do such a small area of damage. Sure is strange!
Yes; Robert, it's on and just above the lobe. If my ear were damaged like this, the wound would be about 1 1/2" long.
Imagine having hundreds of Ike's falling on the side of your head while inside a big bag, then being lifted in the air, swung around and dropped on a pallet all while the coins are jammed into the side of your head with significant pressure. Get the picture?
I have an Ike with an issue that I haven't really gotten a good answer on. A lot of opinions but not a good consensus of what it might be. I call it my "crying Ike"> His eye literally looks like it's crying or maybe "flowing". I've looked at this coin numerous times over the years and I cannot find what would be considered damage. The "flow" is too homogeneous to be damage in the traditional sense. Btw...I have a degree in Metals Technology. I worked metals in the Military for about 24 years. I have had some folks say it is damage from the bags. I don't agree but all opinions are welcome. I'm not stuck on any one thing right now. Pic below:
Oh also, your coin looks to have been "scraped" or metal "sheared". Either some other metal was pulled/pushed across the higher point of the Lobe or the coin itself was pushed/pulled across another metal. Perhaps a coin on coin issue. Hope that makes sense.
you are kind of hijacking this thread if you want opinions about the coin in question i suggest starting your own thread.
We all agree that it was damaged during a struck by accident, it struck something or visa versa. I'm beginning to think that it could have simply slipped from a hand and fell onto something sharp. Still, it's danged rare! :0 Thanks for the input. Great group!
Certainly it could be from the mint. Sharpen your question. Could it be from the minting process? No way, sorry to tell you.
You can see the scrape goes not just under the eye but past the eyebrow. Circulation has worn down the sharp edges but that is damage. There's no way this could have occurred during the minting process and that's the question you should be asking. How did this occur during the minting process?
