Won't argue too much about it.I certainly wouldn't have it graded or attributed for that matter. I didn't take a picture of the reverse though but I did look at it under a microscope and saw lettering clearly identifiable as lettering and I find it odd that environmental damage would produce letters. I will have to take a picture of the reverse superimpose it and then if its env damage so be it. I wouldnt throw it. Because it is interesting.so in short thanks for now I will concur.
As @paddyman98 said, it's environmental damage. Nothing more. Some sort of corrosion. The "letters" you see are results of the corrosion, or some other type of damage. There is no possible way it could have left the mint like that.
I think you would have to ask your self how could this happen at the mint, and if you still think it's a mint error, IMO you would need to take the time and learn the minting process. JMHO Dave
I never insisted it was a mint error. I simply questioned it. But having watched Youtube's Numismatics error video I saw coins I would have thought could have only been done by destruction after the mint process. The worst of them,the coins with very dirty dies,greasy dies and then some when the die was actually broken, not just scratched. I believe most of those coins are removed and re smelted but I am certainly not saying this is post mint damage. I have found that Lincoln cents get more vandalized than any other coin. At first I thought well coper is softer than say nickel or even silver but I didnt notice a lot of the indian cents I have seen vandalized. I questioned has anyone seen a penny like this? And just for myself,I also think after a microscope inspection it is interesting some of the damage could not have been man made. Thanks for the reply.
Go back through the CT archives and you will see numerous examples of coins that have been damaged after they left the mint. How many ways can a coin be damaged? How many Angels can fit on the head of a pin? IMO, it looks like the coin spent some time in an acidic environment. Acid and copper are not friends. The US mint makes Billions (with a B) of cents every single year. In addition copper is a reactive metal, so the likelihood that you'll see a lot of environmental damaged cents isn't surprising. I can assure you, that whatever you see on your coin, it happened AFTER it left the mint. There is NO possible way that your coin could have picked up that damage in the minting process. Stick around the CT forums and you'll pick up a lot of information about errors, how they're made, and the minting process. Hope this helps
Hey Charlesjs no I'm not trying to imply you think it's a mint error, you where just asking and that's the only way you learn. Here's one from the other day that someone thought was a mint error you take a look and see what you think. Dave
That good, honest copper penny appears to have been run over by one or more cars while lying on a gritty, paved surface. Then it seems to have been brought home and cleaned up.
