Disturbances, Interruptions on Coin Edges

The reeded edge of a coin I recently examined appears to be disturbed. Any thoughts on what this might indicate?

Disturbances or interruptions to the reeding on a coin’s edge may suggest the coin has been repaired, especially if the coin at some time was used as jewelry and a loop that had been fastened has since been removed. The reed count on coins in some series helps detect altered dates or counterfeit coins.

Large and Small Mintmarks appear on several dates of Mercury dimes, yet only the 1945 S-dated coins are generally treated as varieties. Is there a reason why?

The Small Mintmark or Micro S variety of the dime of which you spoke has received more publicity than other dates. This impacts the interest and value of this Small Mintmark, but it doesn’t mean that as a specialist in Mercury dimes you should trivialize other lesser-known dates with Mint-produced varieties.

I have a 1983-P Kennedy half dollar that has a completely plain edge. The die rotation is off by less than 5 percent. The obverse is in Very Fine at most, possibly even Fine, or is a weak strike – Kennedy’s hair is almost completely smooth – and the reverse in Extremely Fine. The obverse is covered with myriad tiny nicks. The reverse has less but does have some marks. The obverse mintmark is smooth but looks like a “P” to me. Do you think I have an error, a counterfeit, or merely a standard business strike?

It isn’t possible to be certain what you have without physically seeing it, but my first question regards its weight. The fact that the coin lacks a reeded edge suggests it should be likely lightweight due to it being struck on a faulty planchet. Your description also suggests the coinage blank didn’t fit properly in the coining machine, which would be why so much of the coin image is lacking. While I can’t rule out the coin being counterfeit without examining it, you likely have a striking error. The eye appeal may give the coin some additional collector value as it appears from your description that this coin’s manufacture was really blundered.

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