Ever heard of this?

BarberSpecialist

Hi,How is everyone today?

While looking through some Lincoln Cents in change I found an 1983 Lincoln with the reverse of the E in E. Pluribus Unum missing. At first I thought it was a cud but the obverse had nothing wrong with it. I searched online for something similar but the only thing I found was on ebay.Someone was selling the same thing as what I have. The missing E. So, i'm assuming its some kind of error. I'm new to collecting coins as far as the many different varieties of errors. Bare with me, I'm sorry. If someone could be so kind to help me out with this,it is greatly appreciated. If you need pictures,let me know.I will post some on here tomorrow.

Thank you, Jen


P.S. Would anyone mind if I asked a few more questions about Lincoln cents in the near future. I've found many Lincoln cent errors in change yet its very hard to find good reliable information on them other then this reliable,educated very well known message board here. I just hate bugging you all since your so much more knowledgeable then I. Do you mind?

ER

Hi Jen,
We love pictures, and we love questions. I'm not a copper man. But we have a lot of copper experts on here. coppercoins is the man, IMHO, and he will be glad to help you out.

MikeInFL

Sounds to me like a grease-filled die.

Ask away on the rest of your questions, I'm sure someone will help you...Mike

ER

Coppercoins' name is Charles Daughtrey. He wrote the book, Looking Through Lincoln Cents, by Zyrus Press.

Another Lincoln book is The Complete Guide to LINCOLN CENTS, written by David Lange, also thru Zyrus Press.

You can call Zyrus Press at 888-622-7823 to order.

BarberSpecialist

Thanks for the information on the books. I do have a Lincoln cent book but it doesnt have anything to rare in it. Just the typical DDR's and DDO's,OMM's and key dates. Such as the 55,72,83,84,95.... the regulars. Alot of my coins I want to get sent in to get graded yet I dont want to waste my money either. If this 83 isnt a big deal then its not worth getting graded to me. If it was a 1955 DDO then I would rush it in to get graded,you know what I mean? Dont get me wrong I love Lincolns even if it was a poor mans doubled die but I am also trying to have a good organized variety for my collection. Its just hard to find something rare when you dont know how rare it is. LOL. I feel very bad for asking becuase I cant imagine how hard it was for many of you starting out like me now and getting as far as you have today and along comes myself taking the easy way out,lol. But in all honesty, i've never seen or heard anything like this missing E. Atleast not on an 1983 Lincoln cent. I will buy the books listed above soon but in the mean time has anyone ever heard of this? Have any clue as to what it might be? How much do you think it's worth? I'm sorry for being a pain. Thanks for your time. Jen

ScarsdaleCoin

Jen? Are you Jen formally of Westchester NY?

seanq

I remember this being pretty common on 1983 cents, I've looked at a lot of reverses looking for the DDR. Often the ST of STATES will also be weak or almost missing in addition to the left side of EPU. That part of the reverse design is opposite one of the areas of highest relief on the obverse, the front of Abe's jacket. If the coin is not fully struck the metal simply can't flow into the reverse die effectively, leaving those areas weak. The same thing can often be seen on Wheat cents, often the top of the O in ONE will not be fully struck.


Sean Reynolds

kranky

I feel certain that the "missing E" is simply a case of a grease-filled die. During the minting process, bits of debris can clog some of the recesses in the die, and when coins are struck those design features end up missing. They don't have value (unless it's very dramatic, and very large parts of the design are missing).

Feel free to ask away, but keep in mind that when it comes to errors, a picture is very important.

coppercoins

Hi Jen,

What youhave in your 1983 cent is a typical weak strike for the date, and this one seems to be a bit weaker than normal, but nothing to get graded for just that. Assuming from what you have said already, I would think the letters around the E are also weaker than a complete strike, and it's likely that if the coin is in better grade (AU or better) you can see parallel stripes running through the area - another indicator of a weak strike.

Oddly enough, these seem to be especially common from 1982 through 1985. They are somewhat common on up to 1988 when they changed the reverse design slightly. The cause of this problem in the area indicated is the bottom of Lincoln's bust on the other side of the coin in the same area. If it doesn't receive a full and complete strike, the metal doesn't fill the deepest recesses of the coin properly.

PerryHall

<< <i>I remember this being pretty common on 1983 cents, I've looked at a lot of reverses looking for the DDR. Often the ST of STATES will also be weak or almost missing in addition to the left side of EPU. That part of the reverse design is opposite one of the areas of highest relief on the obverse, the front of Abe's jacket. If the coin is not fully struck the metal simply can't flow into the reverse die effectively, leaving those areas weak. The same thing can often be seen on Wheat cents, often the top of the O in ONE will not be fully struck.


Sean Reynolds >>

zeus135

Jen,

Welcome to the boards. And by all means, ask all the questions you want. The chances are pretty good that someone else can use the info too.

BarberSpecialist

Hello. I am back. I have pictures to show you all of this 1983 missing E. I also found that theres something odd looking with the letter E in the word United. Anyone know what this is? Anyone know how much these are worth? I've seen about 4 of these missing E's on 1983 Lincolns. How come? Sorry, im tired. its 5am. sorry if this doesnt make much sense.Sorry about the pictures if they are bad. my camera sucks! lol. thank you all for your patience and help. It is greatly appreciated!!! well.. heres the pics. Enjoy. Jen
ok...nevermind... the pictures are too big now! EEK!!! Gonna scream!!! HELP!!! LOL!!!! hmm.... ill be back. im gonna go figure this out. LOL

seanq

<< <i>Hello. I am back. I have pictures to show you all of this 1983 missing E. I also found that theres something odd looking with the letter E in the word United. Anyone know what this is? Anyone know how much these are worth? >>




Did you read any of the posts above yours before you asked again? I thought you got a couple of pretty definitice answers there already.


Sean Reynolds