This 1955 cents has a shinny halo around Lincoln. What might cause this? On this 1943 cent, it seems as if the zinc coating does not extend all the way to the rim on the obverse side. What might cause this? And what to make of the vertical lines? A fingerprint? (The second picture is with natural light, but held a a slight angle.)
Shiny halo looks like original mint luster to me. It is standing out to you, aka the halo effect, in contrast to the other areas due to wear. The spots showing wear appear duller, darker. Some areas of coins are "protected" and do not immediately show wear due to the design of the coins. Low spots between higher spots tend to be protected, meaning, a coins surface does not wear evenly in all spots. Different coin designs means these protected areas differ from coin to coin.
To me, it looks like a fingerprint combined with a contaminate, some sort of spill on the coin that is accentuating the finger print oils. View attachment 1007546 View attachment 1007550
