Lamination Or Damage ?

Obviously a piece is missing, but I am going to add the possibility that the coin was struck through a fragment of metal which then fell away at some point after the strike.

I suggest this because of the way the sunken area abruptly stops at the right and the fact that the area above and below the sunken area is so smooth.

When a coin is struck through a foreign object, the object does not always remain with the coin.

Thanks,
Bill

I agree with Bill to an extent, that the shape of the missing area is a bit odd for a simple lamination, but the surface texture inside the area looks exactly like a lamination. A struck through, especially through a fragment of metal, would generally have a smooth texture. Unless, of course, the object that was struck through didn't start with a smooth texture - possible.

Thats what I was kinda thinkin' Chuck. If a piece of metal split from another struck coin it would have one "rough side" (The inside of the planchet) That would leave a rough impression on the coin when the fragment fell away if the piece was struck into the next coin while the fragment was "rough side down".

Or as you suggest, it coulda just been a rough fragment that was struck through.

It does have the look of what you would expect to see with a regular split planchet. It's the eveness around the edge that has me looking at it twice.