1853 Large Cent: Error Or PMD?

Interesting type of break. I'm sure it's some type of PMD.

The bend going through America (likely where it was held), and the overall condition show it happened well after minting. Plus what are the odds it happened at the mint, and someone saved both pieces?

Yeah, I'd love to know what Mike has to say about this. I wouldn't give it a second look if broken CC didn't exist, but we know it's at least possible for this to be a planchet error. Not to mention I have no clue how one would make pure copper brittle enough post-mint to crack it in half.

There is a dent on the reverse and a corresponding bulge on the obverse that represent post-strike damage. However, the break itself doesn't look like it was assisted. As a result, I would tentatively conclude that this is a genuine "broken coin".

Submersion in a liquid gas might do it but I think it would probably have to be colder than liquid nitrogen.

Hey conder can you take a look at my other thread and help me out? thx

I was doing some research into broken planchets, and I came across this thread. I am now the owner of this coin. I bought it to determine whether or not it was PMD. Here is my explanation:

"This coin had a planchet defect that was hidden under the surface. It circulated for years until it was in F condition. Then one day something hit the reverse at 2:00. The coin was sitting on another coin, so there was a design transfer on the opposite side of the hit. This caused the coin to ring and resonate with such vigor that the planchet defect exacerbated and nearly broke the coin into two pieces. The two pieces hung by a thread, but a slight bending force caused the bridge to break. In an attempt to put the coin back into circulation, the owner tried to crimp the two pieces back together, but it did not hold. I find it truly amazing that the two pieces managed to stay together for 150 years."

The surface along the break is crumbly like one would expect for a planchet flaw. There is no evidence that the failure was caused by bending, and there is absolutely no evidence of cutting. As for the liquid nitrogen theory, copper remains ductile well into cryogenic temperatures down to 20 K, so low temperatures did not cause this coin to become brittle and break.