Is there a story behind 1968 Lincolns?

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Weiss
Weiss Posts: 9,942 ✭✭✭✭✭
You can pick them out without even seeing the date. They're so well struck that they border on high relief. Can that really just be my perception, or is there a story behind it?
We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
--Severian the Lame

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  • kranky
    kranky Posts: 8,709 ✭✭✭
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    My perception is that they have the mushiest obverse strikes of any Lincoln, with legends merging into the rim, and many Uncs look to have VF details.

    New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.

  • dan383
    dan383 Posts: 812
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    No story that I know of . The 1968-s does have the lowest mintage of any of the lincoln memorial's , you have to go back to 1958-p for a lower mintage . I noticed that back when I was young and started hoarding unc. rolls . I probably have a couple hundred rolls of them somewhere in my closet !
    Fishing is not a matter of life and death.......It's much more important than that........
  • coppercoins
    coppercoins Posts: 6,084 ✭✭✭
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    What you're seeing in 1968 cents is the last of a generation that started in the mid-1950s. It was a design that had been used, abused, and way over used and the mint knew it. The profile was worn out, the hair curls usually didn't show, the top of the ear had lost its definition, the motto merged with the rim, and the devices close to the rim were spread thick due to overuse.

    In 1969 they re-engraved the design to give Lincoln a second lease on life, and make the cent look more like what Brenner had envisioned. What resulted was a crisper and sharper design with detail, and the first of many lower relief attempts to redesign VDB's work.

    C. D. Daughtrey, NLG
    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.
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  • clackamas
    clackamas Posts: 5,615
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    They do look high relief but as was said the detail is nearly gone, at least on the obverse. The reverse dies are still intact and can have great detail but even on the 100% struck coins the bow tie is mush and the other design elements are worn.

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