I dont look at dimes much. To my limited knowledge, this must just be some type of PMD from a counting machine or something (my guess). Having said that, Im still not feeling sure about it. The edge just doesnt look right and I want to be sure before I put it in my coin star pile. Its sort of mimicking an off center strike but I dont think so. I took some pictures around the edge to show. Is this just simple PMD or wear beyond that little "ridge" around the top edge???
Ken Potter: “I would argue that the 1985-P dime is an error. It appears to have been struck from one of a number of improperly heat treated obverse dies. The improper heat treating caused die sinking; manifested most prominently as flattening and excessive concavity near the rims of the coins. This effect is seen on many 1985 dimes from both Denver and Philadelphia Mints (with all the dies being made in Philadelphia during that era). The reverses of these coins are most often weakly struck from well-worn dies, the weakness due to poor fit-up of the dies caused by the defective obverse dies and die wear; the effect seemingly progressive. The areas of greatest flattening on the obverses shift around the circumference of the coins (sometimes showing strongly in more than one area) suggesting uneven heat treating from the dies involved.” Mike Diamond: “To counter Ken's argument, it should be noted that circumferential sunken die errors are otherwise unknown. Furthermore, no matter how weakly-struck the periphery is on these 1985-D dimes, the edge is very well-struck, with strong reeding and a sharp rim/edge junction. Under Ken's scenario, you'd expect to see reeding that is weaker than normal and a beveled rim/edge junction. On this specimen, I see no grease, only the weakness that commonly appears opposite Roosevelt's braincase, which is the deepest and most extensive recess on the obverse die.”
Whoa. Thats alot to ponder. Sounds like a common thing though as far as this particular year is concerned? Not "rare" or otherwise hard to run across????
