1910 Lincoln Cent, For Grading

I'm 50-50 here.

There was only one set of proof dies for the 1910 Lincoln. I see 7 of the 8 obverse markers and 4 of the 7 reverse markers. The coin clearly has been circulated. That would explain the lack of the evident matte finish and less than full wire rim. I believe this was struck from the proof dies. The question is whether it was struck as a proof or was a business strike from the former proof dies.

I know the idea of business strikes from the proof dies is disputed (hotly). That certainly occurred in other series. I simply do not know if it happened here.

One obverse marker that may be a clue is the angled die gouge above the "N" of IN. That is a later die stage marker. If the proof dies were used for circulation strikes, one would expect that gouge to exist.

It's worth submitting it. IMHO, it's either PR-53 or AU-53.

Fortcollins, you truly are an asset to this forum, and the members here, thank you.

Having it in hand, it 100 percent exhibits matte proof luster, like I said, when I purchased it I didn't own any, having 5 in my possession at this point that are slabbed PR by PCGS, I spotted it immediately while going through my coins... but as always, gotta see what PCGS says.

Yes , we are not saying your dead wrong ,but just giving our opinions on what we feel it is . Hoping your correct .

@westcoin, That's the big debate on the 1910 proofs. I've only seen one die pair for the unquestioned proofs. I've heard lots of theories over the years, but the 1910 is definitely an enigma. There are several possibilities:
Only one pair struck all proof coins
Only one pair struck all proof coins, but die polishing between strikings gave the impression of two die pairs
Multiple proof die pairs existed, but only one struck coins intended to be proofs. The other pair/pairs were used as business strike dies, and the early business strikes from those dies emulated proofs.
The official proofs were struck early, then the proof dies were used for business strikes. Demand necessitated additional proof strikes later in the year, and a second die pair was unofficially created to meet the demand.
This was also the era of mint officials "doing favors" for certain dealers and collectors. (The 1913 Liberty nickels and 1921 Morgan proofs are obvious examples.) Privately arranged proofs absolutely can't be ruled out.

And on and on. There definitely seem to be far more early Lincoln proofs than official mintage figures would suggest. In short, nothing can be ruled out for this era.

That said, I personally only see one die pair for 1910. This coin seems to match the markers on that die pair. Beyond that, it's the wild wild west coin era.

@KyCopperCoins
Did you ever send this coin to PCGS or have it verified that it is indeed a proof coin?

As to the question of how many reverse dies there are for the proof coins for 1910:
Copper Coins has a proof variety listed. https://coppercoins.com/lincoln/die...ie_state=eds

Wouldn't this mean there had to be at least two reverse dies?

panzaldi, That is an old post from fortcollins he last made a post on July 10, 2022 I miss him around here a lot! He had great insight on many US series coins, especially Buffalo nickels. I sure hope he is well! If you read this fortcollinns - we all miss you - come back!