No Date Zinc Lincoln Memorial Cent 60% Off Center

These are so cool. Thanks for sharing Yokozuna.

@yoko, the rev pic seems to show a central, circular region that is more yellowish than the surrounding copper surfaces. Is that just an effect of the photography or is it real? And if real, any thoughts on why? Just plain old surface discoloration or something else?

Spence said...


It's real, but I can only guess as to what caused it.

That area is slightly bent into a curved bowl shape with a flat brim from where it stops to the edge of the planchet. You can feel a slight rise towards the reverse, with the highest point just above the letters TE at the very center of the curved lines.

I would guess that this is actually some kind of artifact (slide marks?) of the strike. It's almost like dozens of tiny rings. The lighting I used catches this and makes it look darker than the untouched copper. The color of the copper is the same to the naked eye.

Just my observations, I could be totally wrong.

Sweet error coin. =)

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

@Spence Now I'm thinking that the area in question is showing 'Wheel Marks.' I have another No Date LMC (copper, this time) that's off center by about 70% with the same slight bend toward the reverse. It has the same markings in the unstruck area of the planchet.

I'm working on the images and should have them posted early tomorrow. I'd do it tonight, but I'm just too sleepy.

I'll start a new topic for the second coin and put a link in this thread.

Again, THANKS to everyone for the replies. I'm glad everyone seems to like the coin.

Nice example!

Hey @yoko, may I ask Where you are finding/buying these coins?

@CCB420 I bought most of these from a coin shop in Dallas, TX over a period of about 15 years. They had a guy come in about every 6 months or so with hundreds of error coins in a plastic bucket. The owner of the shop said the guy always asked for cash for the coins he sold and wouldn't give his name. He thought that the guy must have worked for one of the companies that got coins from the mint and wrapped them for distribution to the banks.

These companies are required to return any error coins to the mint, but these coins didn't make it back. He didn't know what the guy's job was, but he thought he may have held at least a manager position to get access to this number of coins and then sell them.

The owner of the shop knew I collected errors and would put aside many of these coins for me to look at before he put them in the display case.

On one of my trips to the shop the owner told me that the guy hadn't been in for over a year. He didn't know if the guy was selling the errors somewhere else or if maybe he got caught, but he didn't never saw him again.

I was lucky that I was able to purchase so many error coins all in mint condition. I sold quite a few on ebay and to my friends, but I still have many, many errors in my collection. I'm imaging the coins with new photographic equipment, and I may start selling again, I just enjoy sharing them with the CCF.