Options
1974 small and large date Lincoln head cents, how many Lincoln collectors include them in their sets
BUFFNIXX
Posts: 2,770 ✭✭✭✭✭
Here are pictures of the 1974 small and large date Lincoln head cents. Was wondering how many Lincoln head cent collectors include them in their sets or even are aware of them. The slight difference reminds me of the 1970s small and large date cents. (This picture was taken from the Lincoln head cent resource website.)
Collector of Buffalo Nickels and other 20th century United States Coinage
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
1
Comments
Too minor for me.
Whitman makes the holes, not me.
If there's no hole for it, it doesn't exist.
Another variety that was promoted then abandoned.
As with the other minuscule variety thread, little of interest (pun intended).
A minor variety but a variety none less!!
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
I believe I read somewhere that each type has a similar mintage so both are easy to find. An interesting variety for sure though. Might get more exposure if the TPGs recognized it.
What exactly are the pick up points? To me
there is no difference.
I have never heard of this variety. That said, to me it looks as if the large date has the 4 closer to the rim.
I have no idea which coin is “rarer”. It’s safe to say you will have a much greater chance of finding one than I will.
I believe an additional pick up point is on the lettering. Not near a camera tonight but will try to get some pictures tomorrow.
They are different. I don't think it was a case of a stronger impression into a working die. Look at the spacing.
I'm not interested so no big deal but I applaud the person who discovered this.
To me the obvious pickup point is not the date but the overall "look" of the coins.
They look completely different.
I noticed this when I was a punk kid in 1974.
Pickup points are the 7 in the date slants to the right on the small date and is level in the large date.
The 4 in the date is puffed up and noticeably larger on the large date variety
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
This is a great variety that can be spotted from a distance.
The only problem with it is that it is common in BU. This being said it is not so common in the highest grades because all mint set coins are large dates and most modern Gems come from mint sets. It should also be noted that the S mint coins were mixed in with D mints to discourage hoarding. Solid date rolls of sm dt S's are hence uncommon.
I like this coin because it hearkens back to the days before the US jumped the shark. Small date dies were made in order to convert coinage material to aluminum which didn't take a strike as well. Get this; the cost of producing a cent was approaching a hundredth of a dollar so they were going to lower the cost of producing the cent insteads of enriching a few and impoverishing the country.
Then the price of copper dropped a bit so they abandoned the plan to mint cents in aluminum.
At the time I was suggesting the better idea was to use existing cents as planchets to strike a 2 1/2C coin. I figured they could punch a hole in them and print 2 1/2 C all around the hole. They'd get lots of copper and everyone would profit as the banks paid a little premium for cents. We'd no longer need to fiddle around with cents. Of course it all fell on deaf ears but the mint did say something about not having the facilities to stamp holes in coins. It just seemed to me they couldda gotten the facilities rather than spending about five cents to make pennies nobody wants. Of course they say pennies cost less but they are obviously transferring huge mint operating costs onto other denominations and products.
Someday someone will ask what happened to the US and the '74 sm dt can be held up as a symbol of the problem. Or they can get a few truckloads of the hundreds of billions of pennies that cost tens of billions of dollars to make the same point.
The inside loop of the "9" in the date. Look close.
The Large Date 9 where it starts the loop is rounded.
The Small Date 9 is blunt.
Pete
Both varieties are distressingly common. I'd guess the sm dt was a little less common.
They are very easily distinguished even at arms length since they just look different.
They are still highly collectible and the sm dt's are much tougher in very high grades.
As a Lincoln collector I like these just as I like the 60 and 70 lg and sm dates; however I don't think of any of these as important or must have in my collection. Having said that I do have at least one of each, some raw some graded.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
good to know.. it looks as if the 7 and 4 are wider on the large.
Here's my opinion on "scarcity"
1974 small & large fairly evenly produced 50/50
1974-D small 65%
1974-D large 35%
Most superb gem 74-D are large date
1974-S small 60%
1974-S large 40%
True gems quite scarce of either type.
As @cladking said, no need to fiddle with the date when attributing these.
The different look of the two types is glaringly obvious.
The "large date" coins look like no other Lincoln Cents made.
If you study the two types you should soon be able to tell the difference at arm's length.
Edited to fix typo
The obvious difference in the date, to my eyes, is that the 4 is higher than the other digits. Cheers, RickO
Here are the two types of fours side by side for comparison
(small date to left, large date to right)
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
The difference is meaningless and both varieties are very common.
Bags and bags and bags and bags of 1974 dated cents were saved because everybody thought we would soon have aluminum cents. My Dad's estate had two 1974 bags some 39 years later.
Move on.
ANOTHER GOOD PICKUP POINT FOR THESE IS THAT THE INSIDE OF THE 7 TOP VERTICAL BAR SLOPES UPWARDS
FOR THE SMALL DATE AND DOWNWARDS FOR THE LARGE DATE. VERY NOTICEABLE. IN FACT I THINK THIS IS THE
BEST PICKUP POINT TO USE.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Also you could easily identify these by saying that the top of the 7 in the date for the large date variety is level or horizontal
while the 7 is slightly tilted upwards from right to left.
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
I'm really good at discerning the small dates / large dates on the 1982's, the 1970-S and the 1960's, but this one is too subtle for me to pick up on.
I have some examples in my Lincoln "widget" set.
Whatever you are, be a good one. ---- Abraham Lincoln
I will have to start looking for these- thanks for sharing.