Mint Error - Lincoln Memorial Cent Find WEIGHT IS IN!!

snapmohr

WE WEIGHED IT AND IT IS 2.96 GRAMS. WE DECIDED TO WEIGH SEVERAL MORE PENNIES FROM THE 70'S AND THEY ALL WEIGHED 2.95 TO 2.97 GRAMS. SO WHO KNOWS ...WE MAY JUST HAVE TO SEND IT IN.
THANKS



My son, knowing that my husband and I collect coins, brought home from school a 1974-D Lincoln Cent that is struck on the obverse only. The reverse is just the blank planchet. I would grade the obverse of the coin as VF.

Are there individuals that collect this type of mint error and does it bring a premium?

Thanks in advance,
Snap

midwestcoin13

sounds like a fake from the description can you post pics?

snapmohr

A fake? What do you mean by fake? It is a mint error in that it was not struck on the reverse.

midwestcoin13

I need to see a picture before I would say anything about it being real.besides it sounds like something that would be impossible to be made by the mint.

coinfreak499

<< <i>I need to see a picture before I would say anything about it being real.besides it sounds like something that would be impossible to be made by the mint. >>






you're a funny kid

midwestcoin13

<< <i>

<< <i>I need to see a picture before I would say anything about it being real.besides it sounds like something that would be impossible to be made by the mint. >>






you're a funny kid >>



I try I try

snapmohr

Uniface Strikes - could it be this?

Uniface coins occur when there have been two blank planchets in the press at the same time. The other blank will obstruct the die on either the obverse or reverse side, which will prevent it from having that design on the coin. There are many different variations involving uniface errors. In addition to having a 100% blank obverse or reverse, a coin can be struck off-center, with a blank planchet in the collar which will obstruct one side of the off-center. There are also mated pairs which have a combination of multiple errors which can include a side which is uniface. Finally, there are uniface strikes due to a die cap which adhered to the die, forming itself in the shape of a die and striking blank planchets.

midwestcoin13

<< <i>Uniface Strikes - could it be this?

Uniface coins occur when there have been two blank planchets in the press at the same time. The other blank will obstruct the die on either the obverse or reverse side, which will prevent it from having that design on the coin. There are many different variations involving uniface errors. In addition to having a 100% blank obverse or reverse, a coin can be struck off-center, with a blank planchet in the collar which will obstruct one side of the off-center. There are also mated pairs which have a combination of multiple errors which can include a side which is uniface. Finally, there are uniface strikes due to a die cap which adhered to the die, forming itself in the shape of a die and striking blank planchets. >>



could be I would have looked it up but i'm to lazy.

snapmohr

WOW!! Forget it...it's not worth my aggrivation.

midwestcoin13

grab it and slab it grab it and slab it grab it and slab it grab it and slab it grab it and slab it

JrGMan2004

Sounds like it's a cool find if it's real Personally, I would send it to ANACS to be sure it was real, since errors fall outside my area of expertise...

coppercoins

Most "uniface" coins are simply ground down on one side. Weighing it on a gram scale would tell for sure. It should weigh 3.11 grams if the whole planchet is there.

Second possibility is a split planchet after strike, but the designless side should look like a split piece of firewood where the metal split apart - it wouldn't be smooth.

At any rate, nobody can tell you whether your piece is real or fake without its weight and a photograph at the very least.

snapmohr

Thank you coppercoins that was very good advice, I will see if his Science teacher at school has a scale. Will let you all know as soon as possible. It does not look like a split peice of firewood the obverse looks just like the blank penny planchets I have found. Will definately send it in if the weight is right.
Thanks
snapmohr

seanq

Please excuse midwestcoin, we think he stopped taking his medications.

For a true uniface strike like the description you posted, the blank surface should be slightly wavy in appearance. Depending on the thickness of the planchet obstructing the reverse die, you could start to see faint ghost-like images of the reverse design bleeding through. If the reverse of the coin has a uniformly smooth appearance or shows any concentric circles (lathe marks) then it is more than likely a post-mint alteration.

As others have said, a picture here is worth a thousand words. Even without it, someone here should still be able to figure out what you have.


Sean Reynolds

carl

Maybe the US Mint issues these so you can add your own thing on the blank side. You will need a good engraving tool but you could add your own picture there, famiily member, favorite car, etc.
Or possibly just listen to coppercoins, as usual, has the answers when it comes to LIncolns.

golddustin

Many years ago I was going thru my Kennedy halves, and I noticed that I had a coin with "heads" on both sides - I hurriedly ran it to a local dealer who referred to it (as I recall) as "skinned" - and showed me the minute line around the edge of the coin where it had been somehow resealed to form a double-headed coin - great for winning a coin toss, as long as you're the tosser!

BigGreek

"grab it and slab it grab it and slab it grab it and slab it grab it and slab it grab it and slab it"

Wow, it usually takes a couple of years a 2-3000 posts before someone
get to be this obnoxious when responding to a reasonable question.

Snapmohr,

is the blank side of the coin flat? Does it look polished? Does the rim look
unusual in any way? Is it raised on both sides? Sounds like a neat error if
it is genuine.

snapmohr

It has no rim just a blanck planchet just like the few blanck planchets I have found. It does have some like skuff marks on it but so do my blank ones they are identical. I am not sure about it being wavey it is too hard to tell. I am going in to school with my son and his science teacher is going to weigh it for us. Sorry we can't provide a picture. We will let you know about the weight after school. I do have one question though .... if a coin has been in circulation and has become worn would it still weigh the exact weight as it came out of the mint. How much do you think it would lose from being in circulation, a very minute amount or substantial amount?
Thanks all
snapmohr

snapmohr

Oh by the way I didn't mean to confuse anyone by stating obverse inseatd of reverse in my one post...sorry it was late and I am blonde ...lol. It is the reverse that is missing and it does appear to have a very faint image of the memorial on it,now that you mention it, It does eem kinof ghost like as I do not see it through the mag glass but when you just look at it with the naked eye at the right angle you can catch an image of it. Don't know if that is good or bad but, none the less that seems to be what I see.
thanks again for all your great tips
snapmohr

mgoodm3

You could weigh it with a popsicle stick, a round pen and another 2 pre 82 cents. Put two cents on the stick on top of the pen. move the pen until the are balanced. mark the center of the stick. take one cent off, put yours on it and see if it is light or not.

snapmohr

TTT

itsnotjustme

Sounds neat if real. My brother and I have mutilated many coins over the years. (Trying to remember if we took the back off Lincolns in the 74-75 time frame??)

If you have a local dealer, I would get his/her opinion. If they think it could be real ANACS would authenticate it. I've never seen one of these and don't know how much money they are worth.

bigtonydallas

If you want authentication C.O.N.E.C.A. could autenticate it for you for less.

midwestcoin13

<< <i>Please excuse midwestcoin, we think he stopped taking his medications. >>




Dont worry I'm back on them plus I got a new orange one!

coppercoins

<< <i>WE WEIGHED IT AND IT IS 2.96 GRAMS. WE DECIDED TO WEIGH SEVERAL MORE PENNIES FROM THE 70'S AND THEY ALL WEIGHED 2.95 TO 2.97 GRAMS. SO WHO KNOWS ...WE MAY JUST HAVE TO SEND IT IN.
THANKS
>>



If this one weighted 2.96 grams and all the other cents from the 1970s you weighed came in from 2.95-2.97 grams, you need to calibrate the scale - it's wrong. Lincoln cents from the 1970s should weigh in at 3.09-3.13 grams.

Given, however, that this coin weighed incorrectly the same as the others, you may hae something worth further investigation. The last thing I would do as a next step would be slabbing/certification. f it's not the real deal, you would be wasting a lot of money for a plastic baggie. Best thing to do at this point is find someone who knows errors well and send the coin to them for a cheap to free opinion. Next route after that would be to send it in to CONECA for authentication, which will cost around $5. THEN, and only then, go ahead and have it slabbed if everyone says you have something worth slabbing.

I still never really got what the "smooth" side looks like. It would be easy to tell you if I knew that much. I need to know whether it has a rim, wheter the surface has any unevenness to it or whether it's perfectly smooth.

Conder101

Weight might tell you if it is fake, but it can't tell you if it is real. Grinding off the design on one side often will not reduce the weight enough to get outside the mint tolerances. I agree with coppercoins though, the scale used to weigh the coins is probably off-calibration.

LanLord

In highschool I used the woodshop band sander to make a uniface cent and a few other coins which I can no longer remember.

It could be real, but there is a good possibility some young-un has created it and placed it into circulation.

TWODOGS

My 1909-S VDB is blank on both sides. QUITE rare...