I have never seen this before. The seller describes it as, "flaked off." Is there another term for this? Is this a real mint error, or was something done post-mint to this dime? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=524&item=8317131583&rd=1
It could be a natural "lamination flake". However, the detached piece seems to show an upturned edge and other signs of flexion. That suggests that this is a "clamshell split" that was bent back and forth until it broke off from metal fatigue. That would make this coin an "enhanced error" with little or no value.
I don't understand your question. No coin is normally composed of laminated layers. However, any solid-alloy coin can split and flake along the horizontal plane when impurities are present. That's what hobbyists are referring to when they speak of "lamination errors", "lamination flakes", "lamination peels", and "lamination cracks". "Clamshell splits" are a manifestation of the same phenomenon.
