Saratoga Die Clash, The "Choking Washington"?

What do you see on your coin? Note the affect on the surface. A line that is incuse at a curving angle. That is coin damage. 99% of coin damage happens in circulation. The line is incuse. Meaning, it didn't happen on the die. In order for a die to have an incuse mark of the coin, the mark would need to be raised on the die. That area of the coin is just the opposite on the die:

The outside of the die, is the fields. The devices/design is deeper into the die. So a die scratch on the design, just wouldn't happen. The design is deep into the die. When we here the term die scratches? Where do we find them? On the fields. The die scratches don't happen on the dies deepest ares.

So a mark across the highest area of the coin, would be damage to the coin, not damage to the die. Thus this is not a mint error, but coin damage that happened after the strike. As you grow in die knowledge, then you start to spot events that tell you if a crime happened to your coin. So think them through:
1. Ask yourself, how could this happen at the mint? (could it happen at the mint?)
2. Does this affect the coins value? If it is damage, then it is just another face value coin.
3. Seek information. Ask for assistance. Make your inquiry in a question. Not demanding to know. That is appreciated by those who assist. Can you imagine going to school and telling your primary teacher, "I know it all and don't need you assistance all!" What response would you get from the instructor? Asking for help is not demeaning. It is seeking information, to add to what you already know. With kindness and and tack, you will learn and the instructor will be glad to assist the new collector.