lincoln experts...your thoughts needed on 22 plains

mozeppa

i have a mint state 22-D lincoln cent....

it is a strong reverse , well struck

the obverse is kind of mushy (but not real bad)

the second "2" is much stronger than the first

however the front of lincolns vest is complete.... as is all obverse details.

the "D" is there...quite visable...but faint.

now for my question......

since there were very few obverse dies used in 1922...is it possible that this coin was the pre-cursor to the 22 "no-D" cent?

say maybe a early die state coin ...before the polishing off of the "D" occured?

could it have been that the "D" began to clog early on...precipitating the constant die polishing?

any other scenario's out there?

clw54

In the strong reverse variety, "TRUST" should be stronger than the rest of the motto. Also, "LIBERTY" should be up against the rim.

coinbuf

What you have is the weak "D" variety. A nice coin but no real premium.

Chris

mozeppa

<< <i>In the strong reverse variety, "TRUST" should be stronger than the rest of the motto. Also, "LIBERTY" should be up against the rim. >>



just as you say !.........trust is the strongest ..."L" in liberty is flush to the rim.

so is it the pre cursor?

richbeat

I'm not at all sure about this, but if your coin has the die characteristics of die pair #2 and shows a faint D, then I would say that you do have a pre-cursor. Anybody else?

Steve

The 1922 plain Lincoln cent is confusing because the analysis done on the coin revealed three die pair combinations. In 1982 the ANA said die pair 2, the one with the strong reverse was the only one they could confirm had an obverse die that the "d" had been reworked and polished to the extent that the "d" was removed. On both the die pair 1 & 3, the reverse die was worn and weak. The obverse on both had the "d" filled with grease and so the "d" became weak and eventually disappeared. PCGS treats both die pair 1 & 3 as either weak "d" coin 37A or no "d", weak reverse coin 37C. I believe although the diagnostics for die pair 1 and die pair 3 are specific, the coin can wind up in a PCGS slab as either a weak "d" or a no "d" weak reverse depending on the condition of the mint mark. The die pair 2 strong reverse, apparently does not have a weak "d" condition because the entire "d" was reworked when the old reverse die was replaced with a new one. I would reference anyone interested in this to contact the ANA for a copy of the Numismatist from 1982 when the entire article was published.
Mike, your thought about your 1922d being the obverse that eventually was paired with a new reverse to become die pair 2 is very possible in my opinion. Steve

merz2

Mike
Based on your description and the info provided by Steve,it would appear your assumption is correct.I agree with Steve.I hope this is the prelude to the "No D".