What, if anything, do you guys think about this half dollar? It appears that it does not have the normal border from the strike. It almost looks smaller or double struck maybe. Any thoughts would be appreciated
Yes, it was weakly struck due to improper striking pressure! This also resulted in not forcing the plantchet metal outwards to properly form a complete rim.
Comparing a 1986 half dollar to a 1972 half is like comparing apples to oranges. In 1972 the dies had more relief and thus displaced more metal when struck leaving a fully struck rim, fast forward to 86 the relief was lowered several times along with reworking the dies leaving us with less detail and lesser rims. If the coin was to be weakly struck i would expect to see numbers and letters fading into the rim or half missing along with flat or missing hair detail and although your coin is not fully struck its not weak enough to be considered weakly struck. That is why top pops or fully struck coins command such premiums even the 1986's because when it comes to clad coinage fully struck appealing coins are a serious rarity. The coin you have I would consider on the weak side but not enough to be considered error.
Here is several examples.... Take note of the much thicker rims on the 72's
