I got this penny out of my nieces change, close up magnification you can see nicks and abrasions but the wear pattern is minimal and you can easily see the original metal pattern. The text, and all objects though showing no real wear, they are very weak, no strong edges, even the memorial is weak. It doesnt have the characteristics of a worn out die, it just looks like the die didnt hit hard. You guys would know better than me, so whats you ideas.
if its a grease, then id kinda expect it to be uneven strikes thru's, but all of the surface is weak, though it still may be.
In 1980/81 they attempted to take production to new levels. Philly produced 7 billion each year and tended to over use dies, that's what you have here.
Agree about the worn die and I'll also add that once the die has been polished a couple times or agressively polished you start losing some detail and relief. On the reverse on memorials, one of the first details to go is the statue, as in your coin.
