I'm leaning towards die scratches, but I also see a line going ESE to the right of Jefferson’s neck that’s impressed into the coin with no sign of displaced metal. Any thoughts?
Clashed dies and polishing - it's portions of the Jefferson Memorial from the reverse side that you see.
Nice example of die polish. Somewhere I've got an unbelievable example of die polishing on a Columbian Half. Both does were scrubbed to beat the band. If I can find it I'll post photos. Even though it is as-struck, no TPG would ever holder it as such out of fear of being ridiculed for doing so.
Makes perfect sense, thank you! Thank you, this will go nicely in my unofficial “example” collection. If you ever find that ship on wheels with die polish, I’d love to see it.
