How does this even happen to a penny?

I’m not sure how this even happens, I mean yeah, this coin has seen better days, but I didn’t know that the rim could wiggle away…

 

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Strange. Is that piece of the rim that goes over Liberty loose?

 

No, it doesn’t move about, at least not anymore, but it sure got loose at some point (or at least that’s what it looks like).

 

It is PMD - Post Mint Damage
Not a mint error of any kind.

How it occurred? Only the person who did it would know that but it didn't happen during the minting of the Cent.

Welcome to CoinTalk

 

This is just a wild guess, but because the upset rim between 5:00 and 7:00 looks like someone tried to force it into a bezel, it's possible that the bezel was a tad too small and cut into the upset rim. While attempting to extricate the coin, the damage was exacerbated.

 

That certainly sounds possible, but, do you think it could have been done without damage to the LI in Liberty?

 

That's the die rim. The rim adjacent to it, just to the left of it, sitting flush against the L, is the planchet rim. For this to have happened at the Mint, the die rim would have had to have been distorted like that on the die. If it had been, the LI would have come to the right of it, it wouldn't be to the left of it, because the die rim circumscribes the die design, and there are no design elements outside that rim, as are shown, here, in the LI. All that doesn't say how this happened, but it does say how it didn't happen; namely, and at the striking of the planchet at the Mint. Does that make sense? If not at first, reflect on it a little, you'll get it.

 

If I had an answer for every question, I'd be a pretty rich man. Wouldn't I!

 

It’s been damaged

 

Not really. After a couple of questions everyone would stop asking. What part of my question was a challenge to you? I simply wanted to expand on your point. Nothing threatening there.

 

Your guess is as good as mine. But one thing for sure. The damage happened after it left the mint.

 

Allow me to re-phrase my comment for you.

"If I had an answer for every question in the world, I'd be a pretty rich man. Wouldn't I?"

There! Is that better? No challenge perceived! No threat perceived! Just a bit of fun!

 

After you asked this question I looked at it again and sorta used my fingernail to kinda scratch it and realized it is in fact loose and now it dangles (for lack of a better word choice). Not that it likely changes anything, I just wanted to make sure my response was accurate since my original answer was premature and not correct. :/