I'm on DLRC's mailing list, and this coin was in today's "Coins We Love." I've reproduced DLRC's images below. It's adjudicated "VF Details, Damage" by PCGS. http://www.davidlawrence.com/rare-coin/1087492
It's offered at about a third of retail for the grade, and frankly if I'd had the disposable income I'd have bought it on sight.
Question: if it were struck through something, wouldn't things like the stars on the obverse show some malformation?
I'm still wrapping my brain around it; might be possible for the metal to have forced its' way in past what looks like rough cloth weave although your point is stuck in my head as well. The certainty to me, though, is you couldn't create that look on the coin postmint without damaging the stars.
This is definitely not damage as far as pmd. This was done before the coin was struck or during . I'm in the damaged platchet group. And Ken the only thing you can get at IHOP is silver dollar pancakes .
Yeah? Try to 'hop' out of there after breakfast..........I'm lucky if I can move my over taxed butt........
Agree with the cloth. Perhaps it struck a few coins and poked some holes in it...then it struck this one. Could be a mint employee caught the others but this one slipped though.
The stopper for me is, that old, coarse cloth was tough. The smallest fragment forced into the star recess of the die would have made a visible impression. I'm fascinated by this coin.
My off the cuff guess is that the planchet was hit with some kind of hammer or something before the strike.