Die Scratches

Tooling marks are common in the mid 1990s... especially between the obverse beads and the rim.

Hi waz...

The point of whether they are worth keeping is a matter of personal taste. Not many people collect them, so they rarely command any premium, but as a variety, I think that they should be collected (which of course, is my own personal taste). Just as there are many different die pairs from 1859 (which are hotly collected by some folks), so too can you find a large number of different die pairs using tool marks on the later pennies. Some obverses have a couple of reverse dies that they've been paired with, and as well some reverses have more than one obverse die mate. As SPP mentioned, the mid 1990's are rife with tool marks, and I've found that there are dozens of different ones from 1997 -2001. I've pulled out hundreds of them just roll hunting a few boxes; with a stash like yours you'll find thousands. Whether you keep them or not is up to yourself -- maybe keep a few of the more striking ones if nothing else.

im sorry, I just learned that I cant take pics that capture these die scratches. maybe ill try different techniques and see what I come up with.

Are you sure those are die scratches, not gas bubbles? I know large gas bubbles (even bigger than yours) exist in these copper-plated zinc pennies. They can look round (like an actual bubble), or long and linear. Some, especially the linear ones, may look like die scratches or lamination (which shouldn't happen in plated coins, I think) at a glance - they have fooled me when I was looking through a lot of pennies.

Try pressing it down with your fingernail or a toothpick. If it depresses, then it's just a gas bubble. If it's a true die scratch, it shouldn't move.

Very cool looking, hand her a kleenex will ya lol.

Since 96, they seem to be on most non mag's, I believe over time the bubbles migrate, reciprocate and the view of the coin is always changing. Be it striation's or a field of bubbles. Any I find like this are sent to the bank, IMO, that's how the cents are separated here.

Lamination is not plating. Plating is when a layer of metal is deposited on the surface of an object (usually metal too), mainly to protect it from corrosion. Lamination is when an improper alloy mix or contaminants causes the metal to peel or flake off. I did some reading and found that these kinds of copper-plated zinc coins cannot have laminations, although I'm not so sure with the multi-ply plated coins.

Apparently, the correct term for these "gas bubbles" seen on copper-plated zinc pennies are called "Blistered Plating".

If you like it, keep it. That is some extreme blisters on the 1998. I don't normally keep them, but I would keep that 1998 if I ever come across one.

Blistered plating is a funny thing, sometimes the do go up the designs, sometimes they don't (the ones that don't are rather tricky, especially if they're small). Your best bet is just to press them to see if they flatten. I have literally flattened entire blisters by running my fingernail over it several times to find out whether I was looking at a blister or something else.

these types of errors or varieties are common among the newer zinc pennies from 1997 to 2001, nice examples!