For those that don't know the term Pareidolia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia This coin has some zinc rot that makes it look like there are some extra letters and numbers on it but in fact there is not it just happens to be in a shape that makes your mind believe that it is. For example the top part of the coin between the st on trust on the rim it appears there is a u and make some beginners think that some how the u in trust was doubled or misplaced but in reality the coin just took a hit that pushed the metal down and made the appearance of a u. From left to right on the bust of Lincoln the first looks like a d the middle looks like a d and the mark on the right either looks like the number 8 or the letter s which might lead someone to believe that somehow the 8 was misplaced or somehow a San Francisco mint mark was added but again it is your mind playing tricks on you and in fact this is just zinc rot. I am not the best at explaining things but I thought I would put this on here with links and definitions to help some people out. The best reference for learning about errors that I have found is http://www.error-ref.com/. Ok im done I just thought I'd share this ugly coin to show an example of Pareidolia. If others care to chime in on something I forgot or have better links please share.
That is very good information for many of our newbie posters who believe they see the "next great find" on their severely damaged coins. Let's just hope they read it, understand it, and, most importantly, believe it. Now let me throw a monkey wrench into this discussion : Is it possible for a mint employee to put a very small letter or number, that doesn't belong there, on a coin? I would say....Yes! Is it probable? I would say...No! Here's why I say Yes to such a possibility. As a former government employee, I used to do a very similar thing, as a draftsman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I drew what were known as Jetty Condition Surveys on 24 x 36 Mylar sheets, then these sheets were reduced in size, photographed and printed, and then mounted in books. The books were used to provide information on the condition of the beaches in relation to the stone jetties. What I did was this : Inside all of the letter O's on the large sheets, I would draw a Peace Sign. By the time the sheets were reduced in size, you couldn't see these without a magnifying glass or loupe. The miniature Peace Signs did not affect the quality of the information provided in any way. They were simply my special, secret mark. So, I repeat : Is it possible for a mint employee to put a very small letter or number, that doesn't belong there, on a coin? I would say....Yes! But is it probable? I would say....No !
The only small letter a mint employee could add is a mint mark which is considered a miss placed mint mark http://www.error-ref.com/misplaced-mintmark/ as far as adding a number I'm pretty sure it would have to be in the working die and I don't think that's possible but hey to some controversy there have been plenty of "questionable" error's out there so why not some questionable varieties lol.
oh yeah on some older coinage there are miss placed dates here is a link for those. http://www.error-ref.com/?s=mis+placed+dates
Yeah, it's sort of a rhetorical question that goes along with the idea that : "Anything is Possible".
I remember reading something about a mint worker that was marking dies in some way. I forgot the details.
Well.... When you consider we have nails with a dime struck on them, I would say yes perhaps there may be some Tomfoolery that goes on at the US Mint upon occasion.
Be careful what you admit to - it's never too late for Army CID agents to knock on your door and interrogate you about defacing official documents
Hey, now that you mention it, I see a 5, right there between his nose and his chin, up against his lips. It's a big 1 , 2 ! No paradigitallis here.
