Anybody ever see this?

I found a nice shiny 1946 cent, nothing great but it was apparently damaged on the reverse, looked like a dent in the coin. However on closer inspection I realize the dent is in the exact shape and orientation of Abe's bust on the obverse.
I am not sure if this is too easy to make out from the pic's but the lettering inside the dent does not seem to be damaged, there are 2 gouges there but i am not sure if they are related to the dent or not.
It is almost as if another cent was forced into the back of this coin, but no detail or lettering was transferred and that coin would have had to be perfectly aligned with the bust on the front?

 

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Is the pic of Abe forward or backward on the reverse? I can't tell from the pics.

 

It looks like it is facing the same direction as the Abe on the front.

 

Maybe this was struck soon after a die clash was polished out.

 

Yep it's called 'ghosting' it's when the outline of the design on one side of the coin appears faintly, in reverse, on the other side from overuse. Not to be confused with a die clash or brockage, which can create superficially similar effects.

 

If it's backwards, which seems to be what the pic suggests, it's probably a squeeze job...like it was put in a vise with another coin and 'squeezed' together. Or else I'm seeing backwards things backwards. LOL

 

Lincoln's ghost seems to be very common in certain years. I had a local offer to sell me a roll of "ghosts" for $50. I blew soda out of my nose and coughed until he went away.

Jim

 

Rockdude has it....

You'll see a lot of that on cents of the middle 1920s, for example.

Thanks,
Bill