Austria 2002 error? "Faceless princess" EDIT: better pictures

[stupido]

Found this beauty (or should i say beast) today from local supermarket.
Is this mint error or damaged coin?
it seems like there is extra metal drop on the "face".

If this is mint error, what causes this melting effect?
Do you see any more error points that i dont see?
O looks kinda odd on the common side.
Does those scratches look normal, or perhaps from tool of some sort?

Edit: better pictures, 3rd photo is with slight angle and more light.

-stupido

[krishna]

looks like post mint damage

[Figleaf]

Good grief, what a lovely monster

Obviously, it circulated as is. If I am seeing the perspective correctly, there is extra metal in the centre of the pill. If so, it was applied after the coin left the press but (since it looks like the same metal) before it left the mint, i.e. during the annealing and cleaning process. Since heat is a far more likely culprit than chemicals, I'll settle on annealing.

A scenario I can think of (no guarantees) is that somehow, another coin got stuck, melted partially in the heat, which liberated the remaining mass, but left a spot of metal behind. The next coin in line wiped it away. This possible scenario is supported by the missing stuff at left on the ring's reverse: excess heat wiped away the high points. However, I would have been happier with this scenario if the outer edge had been affected also.

Compare this coin. At the time, I thought it was die damage, because it is smaller than yours, but having seen yours, I am not sure any more.

Peter

[chrisild]

By the way, that "princess" is Bertha von Suttner. Back then they did have nobility in Austria, but she is known and honored for her pacifism. Guess the Austrian government found it more important to have the face value on both sides than to explain who is depicted. Yes, in Austria most people will be familiar with her, also with the other coin designs from AT, but such coins circulating in the entire euro area ...

[Offa]

Looks like post mint damage from the swirls around the area where the face should be

[stupido]

By the way, that "princess" is Bertha von Suttner. Back then they did have nobility in Austria, but she is known and honored for her pacifism. Guess the Austrian government found it more important to have the face value on both sides than to explain who is depicted. Yes, in Austria most people will be familiar with her, also with the other coin designs from AT, but such coins circulating in the entire euro area ...

Yes. i figured that much when i did DYOR. I saw someone selling austrian 2e coin that had tear like extra metal beneath her eye and coin was called "wheeping princess". So there you go.

[Figleaf]

Looks like post mint damage from the swirls around the area where the face should be

They are "power lines" The original blob was sort of cone shaped until something heavy flattened the centre, forming the pig's snout. The metal was pushed away. Since it was still in molten state, it ate into the underlying metal, forming tiny "rivers" of molten metal. As the whole shebang cooled quickly, the lines remained. You can sometimes find a similar effect on older coins, struck with worn dies.

Peter

[FosseWay]

I have the attached "faceless lion" - has something similar happened there?

[Figleaf]

I do think so, but with a smaller drop.

Peter