2008 with a heavily polished area?

[Car10]

Any idea why the mint would polish a die in one area so heavily. Between the ear and beard of this 2008 cent there is a highly polished area(flat spot) leaving a space, void of detail between the two. Or is it something other than polishing?

[wavysteps]

It may have not been die polishing, but instead a slightly filed die that gave it a weak appearance.

BJ Neff

[Car10]

There are no lines typical of a polished die. The surface area in question is almost proof-like and as flat as the field.

[diamond]

The location you point to is often the site of overzealous die abrasion ("die polishing"). It can be very severe, much more so than in your coin. Often the affected area is quite smooth, so I'm not sure what kind of abrasive or procedure they're using. I'm not entirely sure why the abrasion is so localized, but this is also an area where clash marks tend to show up. With the very low relief of modern cents, clash marks show up where they never used to. Technicans try to erase them once they're detected and if they're not too severe.

[Car10]

Thanks Mike.