Frogskin surfaces and Other Curiosities

[Merlin8971]

I have found several pennies that show a frogskin like bumps (expert scientific nomenclature ) all over the obverse and reverse of the coin. The bumps are very small and numerous and are on both the devices and fields of the coin.

I have also found some quarters that show a similar type of bumping but much smaller making the coin almost (but not quite) look frosty.

I have also noticed a number of quarters that have semi-circular divits in pairs or triplets (in line) that could not be considered normal wear scratches. These seem to show up quite often and I was wondering if they are actually made at the minting process? Since they seem to be random placements on the coin I imagine it might be some sort of object that removes wedged coins from the die. Is that possible?

[diamond]

The bumps on zinc cents usually represent blistered plating. As far as the defects on the quarters, they do not sound like minting errors. Again, photos would help.

[Merlin8971]

Frogskin bumps and other oddities

Here are photos of the "frogskin" bumps on a 1984 Lincoln penny. This is not the only penny I have found with this characteristic. It is on both the obverse and reverse and covers all fields and devices.

The other photo is of a 1998 D Lincoln Penny with "die blisters" or whatever they are called. The angle was stated at 40 degrees but it is more like 65 degrees. The blue arrows point out the various lines. The photos does not show ALL of the lines present because of lighting, but the lines are only in the fields (except in the Memorial where they show up between the columns). The lines are are completely parallel with each other and some are further apart than others. They do seem to start at the lettering of "United States Of America and seem to end at the lettering of "One Cent." Although several of the lines go into "United between the "I" "T" and "E" they do not seem to go completely to the rim.

I hope the photos help.

[wavysteps]

The 1984 has a problem with the adherence of the copper plating to the zinc core. That is what causes the bumps.

The 1998D has what is called die scrapes which are the result of poor timing between the ejection arm and the striking. This timing mishap causes the ejection arm to scrape across the anvil die. It is not a trail die.

BJ Neff

[Merlin8971]

Nice Explanation

Nice explanation on both of the coins. So yer sayin the 1964 aint worth two cents and da 1998 is worth a bazillion bucks, kewl!

Here is a 2006 with a ragged clip or just broken (though it does not show any bent areas (red arrows). The curious thing is that the interior looks sintered or powdered (blue arrows) which would lead me to believe the zinc has severely ozidized. Am I close?

For a 2006 coin, it is ugly.

[diamond]

The 2006 cent is damaged, with subsequent corrosion of the exposed zinc core. A ragged clip will have the copper plating intact, since the copper plating is applied after blanking and after upset.

[coin-crazy]

That coin was in the elements too long...Its pasted retired!!