New Questions From The Newbie - Lincoln Cents

Looks like plating bubbles and two wams.

I am a newbie myself so take what I say with a grain of salt. All pennies before 1993 are WAM's except for a few 1992 and 1992-D. The "spots" are probably plating bubbles. Don't toss the pennies in the scrap pile until an expert replies to your post.

Thanks. I thought (if I am following the things I read correctly) that if they were plating bubbles that you could press on them with the tip of a toothpick and they would move, but these do not.

I appreciate the information you all have to share. I like to learn :-) Now I know what to look for in regards to " WAM", and what years to look for.

First and foremost, welcome to CCF. Here you will find plenty of people willing to help you out. The help you get will vary from very little experience to actual experts in the numismatic world. As someone who has collected Lincoln cents for 4 decades, the reverse of each of these coins are exactly what they are supposed to be. As for the bumps, those are either gas bubbles formed under the plating, which is a process that was started sometime during 1982 on Lincoln cents, or the could be the signs of the beginning of zinc rot. Both are VERY common on what some refer to as Zincolns. I really like your photos. Most newbies have a very hard time photographing what they want to ask questions about.

Here is a link to show you the different reverse sides for the Lincoln Memorial series. It will also let you see what years to look for the transitional rarities that everyone is after. http://www.varietyvista.com/Lincoln...0Changes.htm

The bubbles as some are calling it is actually residue that is under the plating. This happened a lot at first on the Zincolns because of a poor rinse technique. Thus they won't give under a toothpick. Probably zinc dust on the coin before it was plated.