Anyone want to guess what this is? Probably too easy for you guys but lets see. Image was taken on a scanning electron microscope (sorry no color when using electrons) at 20x.
Nice coloring Paddyman98! But that makes it too easy to guess! 1981 off center Lincoln cent is correct by the way. That is about as off center as it can get and still see the date. At least that is my most off center cent with date. By the way, note the finger oils on the edge of the coin which show up a darker stains. The oil is darker because it is less dense then the copper and bounces fewer electrons off which results in a darker pixel at oil covered spots. Should have rinsed with acetone before taking this picture but at least it shows that I was handling the coin correctly, by the edges. Probably should use gloves though...
Here are a few more pictures of this error. Note how there appear to be drag back marks on parts of the edge of the imprint. I suspect the die stuck to the planchet momentarily after the off strike and pulled back, scrapping a bit of the coin, as the die pressure relaxed and then lifted up. But I am open to any other ideas. That is just my guess.
Oh, man, I'm itching to see similar images of fake 1909-S VDB cents and 1916-D dimes with mint marks added using various techniques.
It looks more like a "push" as the leading surface (like a wave) appears undercut. I wish I had an SEM! You can educate all of us with any future posts!
