2008 P

[sagethyme]

I found this while looking at the new Monroe coins. How could this happen along the edge?

Linda

[diamond]

It's not an error. It's a contact mark from the edge of another coin. It happens when coins get jostled together.

[Jim M]

Mike, I think he was talking about the dropped b or p on the edge, not the rim dings. : )

[diamond]

That is exactly what I'm referring to. The raised letter is a contact mark. For some reason, folks have been referring to these contact marks as "dropped letters", but this incorrect. As far as I know, not a single bona fide dropped letter has been identified on a Presidential dollar. And the edge is just about the last place you'd expect to find one.

[Jim M]

I agree with the diagnoses as I have seen hundreds of them myself. This particular coin you can see the gash from the other coin directly above the embossed letter. I just can't understand how we do not see letters all over the place on these coins. There has to be a tremendous amount of force to do this. Why just one letter here and there? I have to wonder how much pressure it would take to leave that mark on the edge of a coin from another coin. Off to the bank to pick up a few rolls to see if I can figure it out. Have a good weekend Mike.

Jim

[Jim M]

OK, I have tried to duplicate this on a Monroe. I was not able to get something that resembled the above. It did do alot of damage to the coins however. I even took two, placed them edge to edge and hit it HARD with a hammer, hard enough to do damage to the spot that I hit, it did not transfer the letter.

Somebody is going to have to convince me of this diagnoses after me trying the things that I have. A coin simply hitting another coin in a bag I do not believe could cause this.

[diamond]

Despite the failure of your experiment to duplicate the effect seen on the edge of the coin, it still must be a contact mark. There is no other conceivable explanation. Perhaps the two coins were mashed together in mint machinery or a counting machine. There's no way to know. I do applaud your experimental efforts.