Interesting find. However due to the amount of circulation that coin has... it could be damage due to circulation
That's exactly what I thought when I saw it. So I started looking at coins with similar type of wear on other areas of the coins and on the reverse. Then I compared the obverse text with that in similarly worn coin. I could not find similar metal flow on coins even with worst wear in them.
So I started looking at it under higher magnificaiton (which unfortunately I cannot photograph) and here is what I think is happening. The coin at one time had some die related issues on the obverse. However over time the die crack type of artificats themselves started wearing and blending with the adjoining metal. So it is difficult to distinguish the extra metal from its surrounding.
Is there someone I can bring it to (in the Toronto area) who might provide some insight? I am more interested in the cause of the condition. The condition is better seen with the coin in hand rather than through the scans.
Even if it is wear it is interesting the way it manifests and I am curious to understand how it can happen in this manner (i.e. blobs of metal around the main shape of the text)
