Difference Between 66-77 & 78-79 Cent

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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 1,415
Babar Valued Member Pakistan 207 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 11:57 am Hello everyone! I'm trimming down my world coin collection a bit, which includes 19 circulating Canadian coins. I've decided to keep only one of each type, and get rid of the different years, so I figured I'd go through NGC coin price guide and whichever years were the most valuable, I'd keep. For the cents, however, I noticed something odd. I have cents all the way from 1966 to 1984, but NGC groups them as 1966-1977 and then 1978-1979 (and the the 80,81, then the 12-sided ones). The 1966-1977 ones are labelled KM#59.1, while the 1978-1979 are labelled KM#59.2. The only difference in description is that the 1966-1977 one says "Maple leaf divides date and denomination", but even the 1978 and 1979 ones have that. Also, numista.com lists only the 1979 cent as KM#59.2, and describes it as having a "smaller portrait". My issue being I have a 1978 cent, and I can't really see any difference between it and the 1966, 1972, 1974 or 1975 coins I have. So is this a mistake on the part of the NGC site? These are the two relevant pages: http://www.ngccoin.com/poplookup/Wo...ldcoinid=103 http://www.ngccoin.com/poplookup/Wo...oinid=396610 I'd appreciate any clarification, thanks! Report this Post to the Staff

Babar Valued Member Pakistan 207 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 2:39 pm Sorry to double post, but I just wanted to show some more information, which I'd like to think is from a much more authoritative source, that just confuses me more According to the Royal Canadian Mint's page on pennies ( http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/learn...-5300004#1_1 ), the 1978 and 1979 cent had: 98% copper, 1.75% tin and 0.25% zinc, and was 1.52mm thick compared to the 1966-1977 cent, which had: 98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc, and was 1.65mm thick But it makes no mention of a smaller portrait, and in fact, seems to not mention any differences in the obverse at all). So is the 1978 coin different somehow? Should I also keep it? Would it be KM#59.1 or KM#59.2? I have absolutely no way of measuring a difference in size of 0.13mm or a difference of zinc and tin in a metal, but I really would appreciate any help, thanks again! Edited by Babar 09/10/2012 2:41 pm Report this Post to the Staff
bibd Pillar of the Community Canada 838 Posts	Posted 09/10/2012 3:02 pm There is a fairly obvious difference in portrait size between 78 and 79. This is something a good type set should differentiate. On the other hand, I think the composition difference between 77 and 78 is really negligible. The 80 and 81 cents look like 79, but are a little lighter. Personally, I'd ignore that difference too if it's just a type set. edit: As you can see, the mint site is a great place to learn about minute technical details of coins. But (strangely) the mint seems to pay very little regard to major design changes. For example, its production reports refuse to acknowledge logo/no logo issues and old/new effigies within the past 10 years. In principal, it should be easy to keep track of production numbers classified by design or composition changes. Edited by bibd 09/10/2012 3:08 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Babar Valued Member Pakistan 207 Posts	Posted 09/11/2012 01:34 am I also can see no difference between the portrait sizes of 66-77 and 78. And I just checked the Krause Catalog, and it sets the 1965-1978 as KM#59.1, and 1979 only as KM#59.2. So unless Krause changed something from the 2009 catalog to now, I guess NGC made a mistake, and the 1966-1978 are all in the same type. Thanks, bibd! Edited by Babar 09/11/2012 01:49 am Report this Post to the Staff
SPP-Ottawa Moderator Canada 10463 Posts	Posted 09/11/2012 09:06 am There is a difference between 1977 and 1978, but other than the obvious (date) you would need a precise non-destructive analysis to even perceive it, because the weight is the same and the dies are the same - only the composition is slightly different. I have blank planchets from 78-79, but I used an XRF to get the compositions. The obverse portrait was reduced in 1979. The Charlton catalogue has most information about the design specifications: http://www.charltonpress.com/Numism...780889683549 For technical specifications, you can go right to the source at the RCM, as you have indicated. "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer Content of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_US My eBay store Report this Post to the Staff
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