1951 S Lincoln Cent - Penalize For Weak Strike?

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,793
johnstac Valued Member United States 327 Posts	Posted 11/18/2014 05:07 am I bought 5 of these on ebay for around $2 each. This was the best of the 5 and under a 10x loupe, I found no nicks, marks, no discoloration and no spots of any kind. Nice mint luster. Hard to tell from the ebay photo here but the coin was generally struck weak. I noticed this particularly in Lincoln's hair. The top is okay but the back of his hair is nearly all missing especially near the bottom. I was just wondering if NGC or PCGS penalizes for this? I was just using the Whitman Numismatic Grading Standards 6th Edition and they don't mention anything about grading based on strike. What grade would you give this even though it's kind of hard to see? Report this Post to the Staff

SHAFTA9a Bedrock of the Community Canada 10743 Posts	Posted 11/18/2014 05:38 am MS-64RD Report this Post to the Staff
John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 11/18/2014 07:33 am First I would not TPG it. It looks like a VLDS over abraded die. I do not think it is a weak strike. John1 Report this Post to the Staff
scurry64 Pillar of the Community United States 900 Posts	Posted 11/18/2014 12:54 pm I think it is actually a relatively strong strike for a 50's era Lincoln Cent. Report this Post to the Staff
BadThad Bedrock of the Community United States 19930 Posts	Posted 11/19/2014 11:45 am Strike doesn't come into play with the TPGs until you get to 65 and up. Lincoln Cent Lover! VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/ Report this Post to the Staff
jmkendall Pillar of the Community United States 1590 Posts	Posted 11/19/2014 12:27 pm Lets look at the strike first. Note that the bowtie is defined all the way to viewers left, over the lapel. There looks to be a solid demarcation between the bust and field. The hair detail is above average for a 50's LWC. The ear looks to be fully defined; including the top. It looks like there is beard detail on Lincolns neck. On the reverse we have a solid "O" in "ONE". The "E PLU" in "E PLURIBUS UNUM" is defined, though NOT as sharp as it could be. Still above average. All in all; a sharp strike for that date and mint mark. I would have to see it in hand to be able to determine if it was a "full details" coin. IF there are no bag marks, nicks or other marks; or discolorations, then I see no problem with MS65/6. It might grade higher, but again, I would have to see it in hand. Report this Post to the Staff
johnstac Valued Member United States 327 Posts	Posted 11/19/2014 10:35 pm Quote: Lets look at the strike first. Note that the bowtie is defined all the way to viewers left, over the lapel. There looks to be a solid demarcation between the bust and field. The hair detail is above average for a 50's LWC. The ear looks to be fully defined; including the top. It looks like there is beard detail on Lincolns neck. On the reverse we have a solid "O" in "ONE". The "E PLU" in "E PLURIBUS UNUM" is defined, though NOT as sharp as it could be. Still above average. All in all; a sharp strike for that date and mint mark. I would have to see it in hand to be able to determine if it was a "full details" coin. IF there are no bag marks, nicks or other marks; or discolorations, then I see no problem with MS65/6. It might grade higher, but again, I would have to see it in hand. Outstanding evaluation. Thanks for the explanation. It was interesting that you mentioned the "One" in One Cent on the reverse because I have another one where the front of the One was almost flat with the coin. I wondered if that was what you were referring to when inspecting that. Would be very happy with an MS65. I will enter it into Exact Change. Thanks and thanks to the rest of you as well. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,793

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