Good day, Not sure if this is a collar strike that caused the doubling and also the area around mm? Thanks again.
I notice what looks like die scratches under Abe's chin & nose. Maybe circulation abrasions above the date as well.
I took pics of the coin's edge and wanted to ask if these faint reed impressions weren't made by being encased or a vice?
I think your coin was struck with a over-used highly abraded obverse die. Note that part of Abe's lapel is missing. All the lines in the field are die abrasion scratches from die cleaning. 1968 was the last year of use for the old 1916 master die. Some of the coins made that year are not very pretty, as the dies were over-used to meet production numbers. I think the faint reeding on the edge could be cut and shear lines from the blanking dies. The die that struck your coin may have been so worn on the edge it could not push the metal up against the collar, note that beveled edge of proto rim still showing in some edge photos. A tilted die can also cause the edge anomaly.
Thanks everyone, I took coin out of the holder and upon closer examination the reverse shows even more die abrasions so what you all have said seems to fit the bill on this coin. Still a nice example and conversation piece to catalog and put away.
