Strange Indian Head Cent
Veep
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My Dad gave me a 1906 Indian Head Cent to check out. He's owned it for years and said that it had caught his attention because it felt lighter and looked thinner than it ought to. Sure enough, its about 80% of the thickness of a typical IHC and about a half gram lighter. (He never had that soft of a touch when he was whompin' my butt.)
Anyway, I weighed 10 IHC's which ranged from 2.84 grams to 3.04 with a 2.97 average. My Dad's cent is 2.47 grams. The diameter is essentially the same. It grades VG and has the same color as my oak desk upon which it is sitting (quite a bit lighter than your typical IHC of this grade). All of the detail (denticles, feathers, ribbon, etc.) that you'd expect on a VG coin are present. The reverse has some pitting, but does not affect the color or the rest of the coins details. I'd put up an image, but my camera is out on loan.
Without knowing what was going on in the mint in 1906, I'd have guessed that this was struck on a foreign planchet of some kind. Breen mentions nothing of this sort. Has anyone else run across something like this of this vintage? Any ideas about what I've got here? THANKS!
Anyway, I weighed 10 IHC's which ranged from 2.84 grams to 3.04 with a 2.97 average. My Dad's cent is 2.47 grams. The diameter is essentially the same. It grades VG and has the same color as my oak desk upon which it is sitting (quite a bit lighter than your typical IHC of this grade). All of the detail (denticles, feathers, ribbon, etc.) that you'd expect on a VG coin are present. The reverse has some pitting, but does not affect the color or the rest of the coins details. I'd put up an image, but my camera is out on loan.
Without knowing what was going on in the mint in 1906, I'd have guessed that this was struck on a foreign planchet of some kind. Breen mentions nothing of this sort. Has anyone else run across something like this of this vintage? Any ideas about what I've got here? THANKS!
"Let me tell ya Bud, you can buy junk anytime!"
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The Lincoln cent store:
http://www.lincolncent.com
My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
The Lincoln cent store:
http://www.lincolncent.com
My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
<< <i>Jeremy beat me to it...while I was typing, the dirty rat!
I do what I can
<< <i>more lucrative >>
Let me see. I know. It's a really rare pattern coin.
The mint was looking on a way to cut down the weight to make a bigger profit.
That must be it. They are still working on the profit thing today.
Such errors are pretty common among Lincoln cents. Rolled-thin Lincoln cent errors get as light as 1.4 grams (normal is 3.1g). I have one that is 1.62 grams.
Rolled-thin Lincoln cents that are only 20% light cost about $15 in uncirculated condition. Considering the condition of your specimen, I doubt it would be worth more than that.
A split planchet is also a possibility, but they're usually lighter than your coin and will show striations on one face.