What Happened To This 1948 Lhc?

Maybe it was encased?

Theories are like you-know-whats, everybody's got one In all seriousness though, it is not always possible to even give a reasonable guess as to how a coin was damaged. There are an infinite number of ways to damage a coin and most of the time, only the damager knows how it was done. I have never seen anything like this before, the pattern is very regular and almost looks like denticles from an open collar screw press Of course, that is not possible as the Mint hasn't used screw presses since the 1830s and this definitely did not occur at the Mint.

Best guess is something was hammered on top of the coin which impressed the pattern. The only support I have for that is that the motto letters are slightly flattened right next to the rim along the pattern.

I didn't notice the flattening of the motto letters which biokemist mentioned...good eye! I am thinking that encasement is the best theory...I might be imagining it but now that I look it appears the reverse has less wear than the obverse, which would make sense if the coin were mounted on a piece of metal which was then crimped around the edges, to be worn as a necklace. The reverse would be covered with metal so it wouldn't wear as fast.

So here is my theory: Someone had this mounted as a necklace in silver or gold for someone born in 1948. At some point the coin was liberated from its enclosure and the enclosure melted down as scrap. Of course it's also possible that an evil corporate CEO had the coin encased in the top of his cane to commemorate the year he started his evil empire...? I am going to just stop now.