Struck through copper?

Could this nickel have been struck through copper? Look at the top on the obverse.

 

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this looks like it may have been struck thru copper dust fragments and looks as if it was starting to become a sintered coin.

 

Both?

 

yes this is what a sintered coin is. they are stuck thru particles of copper dust from the annealing process. but notice in my first post I said the word "may" . it would be hard to say for sure on this one from just the photos.

 

Sintered planchets are a myth. Both "copper wash" and "sintered plating" have been debunked as a source of surface copper. Here I think the copper on the rim is simply staining.

 

I have a state quarter that is authenticated as a sintered planchet error , about half of the coin on each side is pure copper coated and around this is dark areas that looks like the black graphite the mint uses. maybe my coin is just missing some of the copper nickel plating. heck if i know for sure what to think anymore.

 

The grading services no longer use the terms "copper wash" or "sintered plating". They now use the term "improperly annealed planchet". According to the Mint, excessive temperature, prolonged exposure to heat, or if oxygen floods the annealing oven, the copper and nickel atoms migrate and segregate out into relatively pure layers. Even before the Mint weighed in, I arrived at the same conclusion after long and careful study of many specimens.

Perhaps if you had a subscription to Coin World or Errorscope you would have been aware of this.

By the way, quarters are not plated with copper-nickel. They have copper-nickel cladding. Big difference.

 

Thanks Mike for straightning me out on this and the new information. It has been a few years since I last saw my coin. I know where it is at in one of my coin safes but haven't looked at it for a while. after you mentioned it I think my coin may even be labeled as improper annealed. I have about been out of touch with things for a while because of heart surgery and some opinions have changed on a few things. we once thought the copper dust was coming from where a batch of cents had went thru the annealing chamber before the other coins went in . looks like now I will have to re learn some things......Troy

 

Staining after it left the mint or before?

 

I can't tell for sure if it's staining, and certainly can't determine whether it's pre-strike or post-strike. It would require an examination under a microscope.

 

Okay, thanks.