It is indeed a saddle strike. The two off-center strikes were delivered simultaneously (in tandem) rather than sequentially. The smaller of the two strikes is also a chain strike (edge-to-edge against another planchet when struck).
Mike, How could both strikes be done simultaneously? If the planchet enters a single striking chamber, then how could this occur unless there are multiple Striking Chambers working off of one single Minting Press??? I have never been to any of the Mints and have only seen a few pictures but thought that only one Minting Press operated only one Striking Chamber! Please enlighten me as I am confused!!! Frank
The coin was struck in a dual or quad press. Such a press features closely spaced die pairs. A planchet can straddle the gap between the two adjacent die pairs, permitting a tandem strike. Saddle strikes can be found in cents, nickels, and dimes beginning in the late 1940s and up until the wholesale adoption of Schuler presses, which operate with a single high-speed die pair. They usually show a head-to-head orientation (as in this nickel), although in some years it was head-to-base.
A saddle strike doesn't always show the iconic "hump" or "saddle" which is why the name is somewhat of a misnomer. I prefer the name "tandem strike", but we are all constrained by pre-existing terminology. Some people consider a saddle strike a type of double strike (I do) while others regard it either as a single strike (hard to fathom) or a stand-alone category. In the end, as with all errors, it is what it is.
I' say those of us who consider it to be a single strike is because both images are created by a single cycling of the press. The dies come together on the planchet only once. True it's four dies instead of two but. . . .
That make sense if you equate "strike" with "downstroke". I keep the two concepts separate. A saddle strike involves one downstroke and two strikes. But I'm easy.