I'm thinkin its a strike error, but not sure!!

[Bill69288]

Good Afternoon,
Names Bill, I'm from Idaho. The other day I got this quarter in my change and it really kinda thru me. I'm not sure if someone has done this to it (and not sure how) or if it is a mint error. I'm a 30 yr. + machinist by trade so attention to detail is not something new to me. As I looked at the coin I figured someone lapped it off smooth, which by the way the surface is as smooth as a babies butt, but it is not perfectly flat. Also (sorry pictures are not the best) the finish of the coin has like rays all the way around it coming from the center out like sun rays telling me it was not lapped with sand paper or buffed out and is or would be an almost impossible finish to do by hand. It looks to me like rays from being struck very very hard which made me think it was a mint error. Also there are no ridges around the outer edge at all. It also is smooth. Can anyone tell me anything about it? Or has anyone ever seen anything like it before? And last, is it even real?
Sorry if I attached to many pictures, was trying to get the best ones I had so you could see what I am talking about with rays. In pictures its really hard to tell. They are not straight rays, they are staggered and cracked and kinda side stepped if that makes since.
Thanks,
Bill

[Paul]

Interesting.
In these pictures, the quarter looks as if the obverse field area was filled with something...??
And the denticles were filed off?

I would really need to this quarter in hand to give you a 100% attribution here.
As I don't see this could be a mint error, I would have to say PMD.... JMO

[Bill69288]

lol, Well I'm not sure what PMD or JMO means (and not sure if I like the accusation of what I think it means), but I can assure you, the surface was not filed off, there are no file marks on this coin. There is no raised edge ring on the surface of this coin either. It is almost perfectly flat with the rest of coin, but not quite. There is a .004 high and low along the surface of coin, which is a little less than the thickness of a hair, (please don't ask what color)... Being a machinist for over 30 yrs., old school trained and worked in 13 different shops in 3 different states from job shop to production to .00001 tolerance precision shops, I have never seen anything like it before as far as a finish texture is concerned. But it reminds me of what the ground looks like when a stick of dynamite goes off and it leaves ray lookin lines coming from center point of explosion out to the outside ring, (yes I have done and seen first hand this texture). Like I said in intro, if you look beyond the surface scratches/finish, you can see like a sun beam ray coming from the center out. That is what I am lookin at. I will try to get some better lighting and camera to take the pictures of it so you can see just what I am talking about. Like hitting a bit piece of Ice with a hammer. it sends rays of cracks from center out to outside edge. I will try better to capture the actual finish in detail of the coin for you to look at. Again sorry for bad pictures.
Thanks,
Bill

[Daniel]

Coin doctors and jewelers and hobo nickel carvers take altering coins to a whole different level that most don't can't comprehend or understand their craft. I have seen and studied their handy craft for decades. The rays is the evidence this coin was played with and damaged after it left the mint.

At no time during the minting process at the mint can this happen to a coin, no where. The minting process is precise and predictable in what can happen to a coin during the process.

[PetesPockets55]

Welcome and Nice images.

PMD- Post mint damage
JMO- Just My Opinion

It could have been done at any time so please don't take it the wrong way because, knowing Pahl1, that's not his style. Just commenting and adding his input on what he sees. He has voluntarily attributed hundreds (thousands?) of errors and varieties for people, and is a CONECA rep. He offers a lot of experience that has been extremely helpful to me and others over the years. Like you, if I recall correctly, he also has a lot of commercial machining and equipment experience.

To me it looks like the copper core may be showing through on the obverse similar to Washington's silhouette. This along with the marks emanating from the center makes me wonder if it could be from sand blasting. The sand directed at the center could remove higher devices, like the portrait, down to the copper core.
JMHO

[Paul]

TY C

[PetesPockets55]

YW, and so true.

[Bill69288]

Ok sounds good, than PALH1 since you seem to be the one to talk to, I would like to send it to you for you to take a look at in person. Regardless of what you find being fake or real, I would like it back. Can you PM me your address and I will get it on its way come Monday morning. Not sure I can catch the mail here in Idaho they still work on the pony express system and you never know when they will arrive or maybe have arrived already. Does this sound like something we can arrange?
Thanks again for all help.
Bill

[Bill69288]

Not to change subjects, but I also have this penny I thought you might like to see. Found it in my change about 20 or so yrs ago. Wasn't sure what it was back then but hung on to it anyway. This many years later I found it again in my boxes and looked it up. Found out it was an actual mint error. However I have not found out what it is worth. Can you give me a rough Idea? I was thinking at least a couple bucks. What ya think?

[Daniel]

No date or partial date, copper plated zinc off center strikes are worth $5 to $10 like this.