Posted 01/13/2012 09:16 am
Hi,
The first two coins look to me like gas bubbles under the copper plating. This happened fairly often in the early years of copper plated zinc cents. A die crack tends to be more jagged looking, and usually fairly thin. Small ones are often found coming off the corners of the memorial. The third coin, although beat up pretty bad, is normal. Mintmarks were punched into the dies by hand until the 1990's, so the placement will vary a little from die to die. They are only worth extra if the mintmark touches the date. The last one is just zinc rot. The copper plating split open and exposed the zine to the elements. Zinc is a fairly reactive metal and will corrode quickly when exposed to air and water.
Keep looking, there is still good stuff out there to be found. This is a great place to learn about whatever you find. I learn tons just by looking at all the posts to see what others are finding, and whats a true error or variety versus just plain damage.
Dave
The first two coins look to me like gas bubbles under the copper plating. This happened fairly often in the early years of copper plated zinc cents. A die crack tends to be more jagged looking, and usually fairly thin. Small ones are often found coming off the corners of the memorial. The third coin, although beat up pretty bad, is normal. Mintmarks were punched into the dies by hand until the 1990's, so the placement will vary a little from die to die. They are only worth extra if the mintmark touches the date. The last one is just zinc rot. The copper plating split open and exposed the zine to the elements. Zinc is a fairly reactive metal and will corrode quickly when exposed to air and water.
Keep looking, there is still good stuff out there to be found. This is a great place to learn about whatever you find. I learn tons just by looking at all the posts to see what others are finding, and whats a true error or variety versus just plain damage.
Dave
