What is going on with this 1803 draped bust cent?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Cinco71, Jul 15, 2022.

  1. Cinco71

    Cinco71 Well-Known Member

    Can anyone take an educated guess as to what happened to both sides of this coin? It has a sort of double swoosh imprinted on the face side, and the obverse has something odd going on with the left center half. I picked it up because I thought it looked interesting, but after closer inspection once I got home, and can't figure out what is going on with it.

    Any ideas?


    1803 draped bust.jpg
     
    1stSgt22 likes this.
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  3. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    Looks like damage. Wait for more opinions...
     
    Insider and green18 like this.
  4. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Agree.......probably dug up at some point.
     
  5. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    'One Cent' on the reverse is interesting, though.
     
    Treashunt likes this.
  6. Inspector43

    Inspector43 Celebrating 75 Years Active Collecting Supporter

    Notice that the curved indention on the obverse matched with the curved damage on the reverse. Strange.
     
    AdamL and green18 like this.
  7. Cinco71

    Cinco71 Well-Known Member

    That's the most confusing part. There's some sort of pattern been imprinted right through the middle there, but I don't know how that could happen.
     
  8. tibor

    tibor Supporter! Supporter

    Obv. Some time traveler testing the "NIKE" swoosh logo.
     
    Jack D. Young likes this.
  9. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    Damage for sure. Some kind of toolmark, I'd reckon, though I'll be durned if I could say what.
     
  10. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Damaged and what caused it will remain a mystery but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is the condition of the coin currently.
     
  11. Inspector43

    Inspector43 Celebrating 75 Years Active Collecting Supporter

    I think it happened at the mint. It looks to have been crushed against a die. The lettering on the reverse is raised.
     
  12. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    Clearly used in a load with a multitude of other objects in a blunderbuss. :rolleyes:
     
    lordmarcovan likes this.
  13. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    Just an uneducated guess but this looks like a buried find. Possibly got hit with a farm implement at some point. (plow, harrow, etc.)
     
  14. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    S-250, it has been damaged, something mashed into the obv creating the indentations and the reverse picked up markings in those areas from whatever the coin was laying on when it got hit.
     
  15. Inspector43

    Inspector43 Celebrating 75 Years Active Collecting Supporter

    The extra letters on the reverse appear to be raised. This would mean that it was hit with a die or while on a die.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2022
  16. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    Or there were incuse letters in whatever it was laying on.
     
    Inspector43 likes this.
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