You've got a "2¢ from 1975", so I assume it's an Australian 2¢ we're talking about.
All Australian coins (and just about everyone else's coins, too) are made "all at once", not in pieces. It's virtually impossible for the mint to accidentally make an "error" like that.
Prior to striking with the main dies, a blank coin is "rimmed" - rolled to produce a smooth edge and raised rim. Section 3 of
this page from the RAM website explains why they do this. So a blank that enters the press isn't perfectly flat to start with.
The only way it could become perfectly flat is if the mint made a special completely blank die, and struck the coin with that. I'm not aware of the mint ever doing that.
So the short answer is no, it was made like that outside the mint. Such a thing can happen accidentally (eg. if it gets stuck in a dryer or washing washine for several years) or, most likely, someone ground the side down with a sander or buffing tool.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
Posted 03/31/2008 05:28 am
