1988-P LMC, 2 Questions

It looks like you have a nice die clash on the REV of the coin. On the left side of the memorial you can see the clash running left to right starting just below the "E" running through bay #3 and at to top of the memorial below the dot after "UNUM". I believe what you are asking about in the black box is two different things. First the vertical line is normal for LMC. You will see those vertical lines in all LMC in bay #5 and #7. For your coin you can also see part of the clash in the top of bay #7. It looks like the small bulge on the top of the vertical line. You can also see the small bulge at the bottom of bay #4. The clash is of Lincolns head. If Coop see this I imagine he has a overlay handy that he could post showing what you are seeing.

As for the steps...It looks like a bit of over polishing has been done to the die to remove the clash. Most likely there was quite a bit more of Lincolns head visible on the die and they attempted to remove it. I'm by now means a expert...Just giving my 2 cents worth.

Thanks Clad for the very detailed explanation! I found a picture of a die clash. After you explained it clearly for me I can now see the die clash. Thanks for answering my other question too!

Here is the overlay:

Also this appears like a clash/polishing then another clash. The previous clash must have bene extra strong to remove the steps. The polishing lines usually only affect the field. In this case the fields shallow devices were affected probably from an outline of the dead below the steps. When we look at a coin under a microscope it is hard to remember that the space were are looking at is very small. Next time you look at a coin close up, take a tooth pick and lay it over the coin and see how large it looks. So when they polish to remove a clash, other areas may be affected. The next clash appears to be fresh. So it woulf probably be another cleaning or even retiring the die if it is beyond cleaning. But I thinking it probably would be re-polished. It happens.