Connecticut fat limbs

[Tuebits]

Found the Connecticut Quarter with some fat limbs. Hopefully there is enough detail from the scanned image. What can cause this?

[diamond]

Examination under a microscope would be necessary to determine what's going on. It could be die deterioration, a little bit of grease in the deepest recesses of the die, or even post-strike damage.

[Tuebits]

Don't own or have access to a microscope; however my 16X glass attached to my camara came up with these photos. If these don't provide enought detail what kind of scope would you recommend for a cherrypicker?

Tuebits

[diamond]

I would guess that it's due to die wear. Narrow design elements can grow wider as the die deteriorates. The branches of the Charter Oak have been unusually susceptible to these changes.