1987-D Possible RPM...take a look

[Guest]

This speciman exhibits what looks like plating issues. However the plating issue is centered around the mint mark only, there is no other evidence of plating separation anywhere else on the obverse. I am wondering what the cause could be, I think it was Rogers daughter Heidi who said," If you look hard enough you will find just about anything you want on a penny!" I find it it interesting to contemplate what the actual root cause of the plating problem is and so I am asking the experts to weigh in. Is it possible for a errant mint mark to cause the plating separation in evidence on this coin?

[mustbebob]

It is a plating problem, and to have it only around the mintmark is pretty common. Some people attribute it to the fact that the mintmark was hand punched during this time period, and it may have been punched deeper than most. This could very well cause the problem as the relief would be higher in this area than the rest of the coin.

[jcuve]

That pesky Plating Splt Doubling (Split Line Doubling) again. It can be very isolated. I have been thinking it relates to the sharpness of the edge of a device on the die, in this case the mintmark, how close it is to the edge of the coin and how much open area exists between the device and the edge. Maybe the depth of the mintmark is also a factor.