Suspicious mark, 55s

[dpb]

Pulled 3 of these out of a 55s roll. Full of die scratches but all in straight lines. The curved mark above the MM peaks my curiosity. Maybe someone has seen this die before.

[Bob P]

Very interesting. May very well be an errant mintmark that was polished away because it was too high. I would have to have a look at it and do some overlays to be absolutely sure though.

[Robert]

Is it an illusion or is there also a curved line just east of the bottom of the "S"? It has the same general curve as the "S" does...

[Bob P]

I was looking at that too Robert. I just can't say for sure without being able to study the coin. Either way, the coin has possibilities that can't be answered by this pic alone. Maybe dpb has something additional about it?

[ddorpm]

Just for heck of it -- I did a quick overlay -- and it matches the curvature edge. Of course, in of itself, that doesn't prove anything. Overlay is just one of the tools in a attributer's toolbox. However, it's also interesting a majority of the curve goes against the grain of the overall abrading direction. This coin needs to be extensively examined.

Regards,
Billy G. Crawford

[joeyuk]

While we are on the subject of 55-S. Any thoughts on this?

http://forums.collectors.com/attachments//1955%2DS%20a%2Ejpg

Or this? Same coin.

http://forums.collectors.com/attachments//1955%2DS%20b%2Ejpg

[Bob P]

Looks like a die crack to me Joe.

[Doug]

If it were a misplaced mm and the mint intended to abrade it away wouldn't the nw/se scratches be below the obvious suspect curves? Bear with my tired old eyes.

[Bob P]

Doug...I guess it would depend on when the die was polished or abraded. The die may have been polished after a clash or something. Sometimes, an RPM or striking error that has been abraded becomes more apparent as the die wears.

[coop]

We are examining it through a microscope and I don't know if they did? So good find and looking forward to a follow up on this thread.