1968-S Lincoln cent question

rollmeupAbe

I recently took out a coin collection I had not touched in 25 years and included in my shoe box were 3 rolls of 1968-S and one roll of 1969-S pennies. The 1968-S pennies exhibit very fat letters and numbers and several show doubling on the L I R and T in LIBERTY. In addition, the date numbers are unusually fat and in some cases it appears the 8 is so high it looks like one 8 sitting on top of another 8. The 8 also appears lopsided with the left of the 8 higher than the right. I took pictures at 20 and 40x magnification to show how the numbers appear. Unfortunately I can not figure out how to attach the images to this message. Also included were several exhibiting strike doubling part of which I am assuming is due to how fat the numbers/letters are.

I am trying to figure out the best way to have the coins looked at without incurring any significant expense in the event they are not worth any more than a shiny penny. I already spent $350 to buy a microscope and $38 on the Cherrypickers Guide which was an expensive way to learn about strike doubling (sorry Honey, don't buy that new car yet!). If anyone has an interest in looking at the pictures or has ideas of where I could go in the Boston area to see an expert please let me know.

LanLord

1968 was the last year of using the same master hub for nearly 60 years. The thing was worn and way out of shape, letters had begun to move into the rim etc. This is one reason why they would look poor.

clw54

The 1969-S cents do look a lot different than the 1968-s. A lot of 1969-S have date doubling, which is not to be confused with the rare Double Die Obverse.

perfectstrike

A recent coinworld issue showed an enlarged photo of a 1968-S Lincoln with doubling from overused dies. It was a September or October issue. I believe the article stated the 1968 through 1972 Lincoln S-mints experienced a lot of this due to the die overuse.

perfectstrike

cladking

Welcome aboard.

Worn die doubling can be quite dramatic with the secondary image displaced
by half the width of the MM on these cents. The 68-S cent is extremely elu-
sive in circulation but commands little premium in typical unc. Gems are tough
and large numbers of the mint sets now have badly corroded "S" cents.