VEDS Very Early Die State 1955-S Lincoln Cent
rmpsrpms
Posts: 1,955 ✭✭✭✭✭
My primary collecting interest is in searching BU Wheat Cent rolls. I look for varieties such as RPMs and Doubled Dies, die errors such as BIEs and other anomalies, striking and planchet errors, etc. I also look for overall interesting coins such as prooflikes and VEDS coins. I recently picked up a bunch of 1955-S BU Lincoln Cent rolls and have been gradually going through them. They had been in storage since the late 70's, and had not been gone through, so I'm finding some interesting stuff in them.
I put aside all the coins that appeared to be VEDS, and in the first 10 rolls or so I found nearly a full roll of them. However, upon closer examination, most of them showed visible evidence of die wear, so would not be considered VEDS by my standards. I did however find a few coins that were indeed VEDS, and thought I'd share some photos.
Note that I published a high resolution image of a VEDS 1956-D Cent a while back. You can see the coin here:
https://easyzoom.com/image/124030/album/0/4?mode=manage
That coin was the earliest die state coin I had ever found. The 55-S, whose details are pictured below, is roughly the same die state, and shares many of the same surface characteristics of super fine die scratches that flow right into the raised features with no distortion due to die wear, etc.
Here are some pics:
Comments
The "dotted line" under Lincoln's chin on that 56-D is pretty interesting.
Collector, occasional seller
Why no 55 to look at ?
Here you go:
http://macrocoins.com
Great pictures. Not an area of coin collecting that commands a lot of interest - on my part - but thank you for the pictures and information. Cheers, RickO
Nice!
Nice job! Plus that's an interesting photo storage site, never heard of them until now. That zoom feature is truly easy to use!
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
EasyZoom is where I host all my High Resolution images from, since they can handle 100MP+ images with that very nice zoom feature. I'd like to host them myself but my simple website can't handle such images, and neither can the other sites I've investigated.
Something I've discovered on these VEDS coins is the existence of Working Hub Scratches. When looking at a coin surface in detail, we all see the "hits" and "scratches" and "gouges" and such that happen to the coin after striking, presumably while in the bags that transport them to distribution facilities. These are considered PMD, Post Mint Damage, and are a primary reason for coins to be downgraded from MS70 to lower grades. All of these are incuse, meaning they go below the surface of the coin.
Sophisticated collectors also know about "die scratches", which can look similar to incuse PMD scratches, but are raised above the die surface. There are countless threads on the various forums with pictures of scratches, trying to identify if they are die scratches or PMD. In theory, die scratches "should not" cause a downgrading of the coin, but they are unsightly and often mistaken for PMD scratches. I have never seen a high grade modern coin that had prominent die scratches.
So now let's take this concept one step further...what if there were incuse scratches on a Working Hub? These could be caused by surfacing work done on a blank hub prior to it being impressed by the Master Die. If the hub was not impressed with sufficient pressure to obliterate these scratches, they would remain and could not be removed due to the proximity of raised design features. When the hub was used to make a Working Die, those scratches would create raised "hub scratches" on the die surface similar to how an incuse scratch in a die creates raised "die scratches" on the coins it strikes. These raised scratches on the die would then create incuse "scratches" on the struck coins. My presumption is that these raised scratches on the die would be quickly obliterated by die polishing work, since they are very shallow and raised above the die surface. This would explain why they are not commonly seen, and I have only found them on VEDS coins, likely struck before any surfacing work was done on the die after hubbing.
To show you what I'm talking about, here is an example on a 1955-S Cent:
http://macrocoins.com
Indeed it is. Looks like someone ran a perforating wheel along the die surface.
http://macrocoins.com
It's funny, you're posting the 55s. Somewhere around the house I have a whole roll of the 1955s. I framed them. I'll post when I find it.
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.Very interesting study. I like stuff like this.
Pete
Yes, interesting indeed. Super pictures..........
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Distraction ? No. Maybe to help ? Of course.
This is all I got,
. My libary system lol
Your photography skills are exceptional.
Thanks for the kind words. I shot these with a Sony A7Rm4 and a Nikon 10x Measuring Objective. The Sony images are ridiculously huge. I had to reduce them 8 times (!!) to get them to the size presented here. The full size images are 9504x6336 pixels.
Here's the left side of the last "T" in TRUST at full size from the camera:
http://macrocoins.com
Here is my 50 1955s cents.
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.Really outstanding photography @rmpsrpms
As a fellow photographer, I can fully appreciate just how difficult this level of macro work is.
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
There's is a sketchy factor on this coin in hand.
Suggesting a 6 or 3 in the date . Adding it carries a 3.1 weight and FG on the reverse
The micro photo's have been sized with both digits along side and...?
One thing to notice, look at both ending 5.
Both are sliced in a same type of action with edge's different.
Texture seems to be smooth with a thought of discharged due to sensors on press. ?
I shot the 55-S VEDS coin in high resolution, and posted it to EasyZoom website for folks to look at. Turns out the reverse is also VEDS, which lends support for this coin being struck from a brand new pair of dies. Too bad it's not a recognizable variety, but even though it's a "normal" coin, it's still a lot of fun to look at. The reverse may even be more interesting than the obverse, as it shows some fine "circular" die scratches at the center. Neither obverse nor reverse show the hub scratches I talk about above, presumably as they have been removed by abrading with very fine emery cloth/sandpaper and have been replaced with super-fine scratches across both obverse and reverse die surfaces. Take a look here:
Obverse:
https://easyzoom.com/image/295627/album/0/4?mode=manage
Reverse:
https://easyzoom.com/image/295628/album/0/4?mode=manage
http://macrocoins.com