2004-P Lincoln Circular Die Gouge

These have been 'known' for about four years now, and nobody can seem to pick exactly what it was that caused them. There are a few different cent dies with these marks, and it's believe by some (myself included) that the 2004 dime with the curved mark on the obverse and the Wisconsin 'leaf' coins were made the same approximate way.

The marks were obviously made either while the die was turning, or by something with a circular shape. Which makes for an interesting point - neither scenario matches up with known die making processes. At no time during the process are the working dies 'turned', nor is there any known 'tool' that has this shape and size used on dies. Dies are pressed, heated, sanded, etc. - but the marks on this coin (and the others like it) are too circular to have happened in the typical manner that we think of 'die gouges'....something scraping across the die.

I'm not sure there will ever be a definitive answer as to what caused marks like these on dies. Something like crop circles, they are a phenomena we will watch for and collect without fully understanding them.

I may write an article about this in the upcoming Lincoln Cent journal. Mind if I use your image?

Interesting LMC and info on these coins!

Yes it is and THANK YOU for sharing it.

Here's the one I posted a few months ago, It looks like there is a few different dies for that year.

Image: 2004cir1.jpg
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Image: 2004cir2.jpg
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Image: 2004cir3.jpg
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