Did my bubble burst?

[scubalou]

Just found this 1998. Looks like either a massive gas bubble burst before the coin was struck or a really big die break.
Lou

[VAB2013]

I think the large dark area is just a stain, it doesn't look like a plating blister that deflated, and it definitely doesn't look like a die break. Stains can look really odd sometimes!

[makecents]

I'm with Viv!

[scubalou]

Don't know, I could scrape a little dirt out of it with a toothpick. Don't tell Ed. lol
Here's another pic.
Lou
P.S. It's a stain for sure. However starting at the cheek there appears to be a crack which goes down to the field and widens. It extends to south of the first 9, and you can plainly see the 1 is stamped over the missing layer.
Lou
P.P.S. Here's a good close-up

[jfines69]

Is it incuse or in relief??? That is weird looking... I do not think it is from a bubble tho???

[scubalou]

It's incuse, I was able to scrape a little dirt out of it, with a toothpick. I'm thinking an incomplete plating issue. Either that or some plating peeled off before the strike. The one definitely is struck over it, maybe the top of the first nine as well.
Thanks: Lou

[GrumpyEd]

If it was missing plating before strike, then it will not be incuse because the die pressure will make it level.

I think it is a stain but it has some slight thickness, the streak to the 1 is an area where the stuff/stain came off or wasn't as thick so within that it's at the field level. The other boundaries of the stain are so gradual that you can't tell it's raised.

[scubalou]

Well Ed that's certainly reasonable. The issue I would have is there appears to be a crack down Lincoln's cheek just west of his mouth that heads south towards the stain. I believe the middle picture, 007 from above, shows this pretty clearly. Just some sort of damage I expect - only weird. Like Viv said - stains can do some crazy things.
Thanks: Lou

[mustbebob]

I need to encourage you to think about the minting process whenever you come up with these weird anomalies. A lot of these things are not anything unique. This is a simple stain. What caused the stain can account for a lot of the issues (ie was it a thick liquid, corrosive etc.). However, without clearly understanding the process, you overlook or state some of the most obvious things that it couldn't be.

[scubalou]

O.K., thanks Bob: Obviously have a lot to learn. I'll study the minting process next. Thanks for the info.
Lou

[scubalou]

Thanks for your encouragement Bob: My entire focus was to figure out what happened to this Lincoln. I like solving things, my little quirk. I now believe whatever caused the stain was mildly corrosive and was spilled on Lincoln's cheek and down along the vest. From there it spread out. As it did it ate away part of those areas and began to become less concentrated, perhaps neutralized by the copper it interacted with and spread east under the one as it lost potency simply staining the outlying area. Thank you.

[scubalou]

Thanks for the encouragement Bob: My entire focus was to figure out what happened to Mr. Lincoln. I like to solve mysteries, just my little quirk. I believe what happened here was that something corrosive came into contact with Lincoln's cheek and in the front of his vest. This substance ate into his face and along his vest and began to spread. Upon dissolving some of the copper it weakened and spread under the one, all the time losing it's potency. The remainder of the substance then spread further but was no longer of sufficient strength to cause any more damage save a little discoloration. I can sleep now. Thanks: Bob

[VAB2013]

Lou here is a good link on Wexler's website for how dies are made, also one for doubled dies!

http://doubleddie.com/58201.html

http://doubleddie.com/58222.html

[scubalou]

Thanks Viv: The more I learn the more I don't know. lol

[mustbebob]

Lou...I certainly don't want you to not solve these little mysteries, or lose interest in doing so. We wouldn't be so attached to this hobby if we didn't. What you just said about the condition of this coin, and what caused it is EXACTLY the type of inspections we need to perform to get the the bottom of many issues. The only way to do that is to know what can and can not happen to a coin while it is being made. You have already made significant strides the short time you have been here, so congrats and keep up the good work. We are all still here to help when things are not so obvious, and even then, we will run into things we just can't figure out. We handle those as they come along.