1942 Lincoln - Mint Error Or PMD? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 24 / Views: 4,522	Page: of 2
ConfederateHalf Valued Member United States 79 Posts	Posted 02/09/2015 10:07 pm I found this 1942 Lincoln while CRH today. The obverse is missing the letters "IN G" from the motto In God We Trust. It is also missing the letters "LI" and most of "B" in Liberty. Sort of like you'd see on a Greaser, except the next letter "O" is nice and strong and so is the rest of the motto. If you flip the coin to the reverse, you will find a big chunk of metal missing from precisely the area opposite from where the missing letters are on the other side of the coin. It looks like a huge lamination peel, but I suppose it could also be PMD since the coin is a bit beat up on both sides. However, if you look again closer to the center of the coin there is a jagged line that runs across the whole reverse. (See photo with arrows.) It is NOT a die crack. It appears to be a very shallow peel of the planchet that may have occurred prior to striking. This leads me to believe that the more severe crater on the reverse is where the lamination was so bad that metal actually separated from the coin - maybe at the time of striking - which may account for why the letters that are missing on the obverse did not strike up. A very strange coin. Anybody else have ideas as to how this happened? Is this a bona fide error form the mint or PMD? Here are the pics: Edited by ConfederateHalf 02/10/2015 12:04 am Report this Post to the Staff

NickelCollector Valued Member United States 212 Posts	Posted 02/09/2015 10:13 pm Looks like the coin is pretty beat up. I'm gonna say it's PMD, but I'm not sure. Report this Post to the Staff
SilverStackerKid Pillar of the Community United States 6478 Posts	Posted 02/09/2015 10:26 pm Probably a mixture of a minor Grease Filled Die and and a whole lot of PMD. If we could get a better pic of the reverse it might be a lamination. Report this Post to the Staff
ConfederateHalf Valued Member United States 79 Posts	Posted 02/09/2015 11:47 pm Quote: Probably a mixture of a minor Grease Filled Die and and a whole lot of PMD. If we could get a better pic of the reverse it might be a lamination. Here are some macro pix of the reverse. The thing that is interesting about this coin is that the possible lamination on the reverse is exactly on the other side of the coin in the same position as the possible grease filled area of the obverse. They sit PRECISELY on top of one another with perfect alignment so whatever caused these two (2) errors or defects happened as a result of a SINGLE action. Edited by ConfederateHalf 02/09/2015 11:48 pm Report this Post to the Staff
ConfederateHalf Valued Member United States 79 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 12:08 am The more I study and think about this coin, the more I am leaning towards the idea that this is a major lamination on the reverse that caused some of the obverse lettering not to strike up at the time of minting. I do not believe the missing letters on the reverse are the result of a Grease Filled Die. It doesn't have the right look. Also, I do not believe in coincidences. The fact that the errors on each side of the coin are diametrically opposed to one another just screams out that all of this damage happened in a single moment. If you look at the rim on the obverse where the letters are missing, you'll notice is is mushier and not as well-defined and raised as the rest of the rim - which also seems to indicate that there just wasn't enough metal present to completely fill the die at the rim on the obverse due to the lamination peel on the reverse. The only damage to the coin that I feel sure is PMD is the obliteration of the letter "Y" in Liberty, but that is far removed from the other features we are focused on here and appears totally the result of circulation wear. Edited by ConfederateHalf 02/10/2015 12:12 am Report this Post to the Staff
SilverStackerKid Pillar of the Community United States 6478 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 12:40 am I am starting to think it might be a strike through because of the weak lettering. Lamination, strike through, PMD, and grease are at the top of my list for this one. I really want an expert to respond to this. Report this Post to the Staff
coop Bedrock of the Community United States 62064 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 02:13 am Looks like a Struck Through Grease error on the obverse. The "Y" on LIBERTY looks like it was damaged. The reverse I wonder if it is a struck through debris? On a lamination, you usually see a ghost image where the peel happened and it would show a little remaining. But on your coin it looks like it was struck through a piece of debris. But the glare makes it hard to say which for sure. Report this Post to the Staff
ConfederateHalf Valued Member United States 79 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 11:17 pm Quote: Looks like a Struck Through Grease error on the obverse. The "Y" on LIBERTY looks like it was damaged. The reverse I wonder if it is a struck through debris? On a lamination, you usually see a ghost image where the peel happened and it would show a little remaining. But on your coin it looks like it was struck through a piece of debris. But the glare makes it hard to say which for sure. Coop - I think you raise a real possibility. I had not considered a "struck through debris" type error to explain the reverse. Question: Would that type of error account for the failure of the lettering and rim to strike up on the obverse directly opposite where the damage to the reverse occured? I would be delighted to hear from more experts here about this coin. It's most odd. Here are four more new pix of the reverse I took to try to give you a better look at gouged area of the reverse. The first 3 pix were taken with the macro setting on my digicam. The last picture was captured on my USB Microscope focused on the possibly struck-through area: As seen through the USB Microscope: Edited by ConfederateHalf 02/10/2015 11:33 pm Report this Post to the Staff
SilverStackerKid Pillar of the Community United States 6478 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 11:43 pm I was the first to raise the possibility of it being a strike through but ok. Lol. Report this Post to the Staff
coop Bedrock of the Community United States 62064 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 11:49 pm It might be a piece of wood or something else. Probably not a large premium for this. Probably just a modest amount to a collector of these. Report this Post to the Staff
SilverStackerKid Pillar of the Community United States 6478 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 11:53 pm It is a large strike through though. Not a high grade. How would have something got in the dies way too? Report this Post to the Staff
ConfederateHalf Valued Member United States 79 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 11:56 pm Quote: I was the first to raise the possibility of it being a strike through but ok. Lol. Quite right! Sorry for the oversight in giving credit where it was due. I appreciate your input about this curious Lincoln. Report this Post to the Staff
SilverStackerKid Pillar of the Community United States 6478 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 11:58 pm Lol, no problem. I am very interested in this cent. I think we are all learning something from it. Report this Post to the Staff
ConfederateHalf Valued Member United States 79 Posts	Posted 02/10/2015 11:59 pm Quote: It is a large strike through though. Not a high grade. After looking closely at the reverse with my microscope and loupe. It really does look like a piece of debris got in there, but what, I haven't a clue. As to grade, some might say F-15, but I'm thinking more like VG-08 or VG-10. Regardless of what it ultimately proves to be worth it represents the most interesting error coin find I've yet found in circulation, so it's a fun coin to have pop out of a coin roll from the bank. Edited by ConfederateHalf 02/11/2015 12:01 am Report this Post to the Staff
SilverStackerKid Pillar of the Community United States 6478 Posts	Posted 02/11/2015 12:03 am I would grade it a strong VG-07 in my opinion. The wear and the large dings and scratches bring it down there for me. Report this Post to the Staff
ConfederateHalf Valued Member United States 79 Posts	Posted 02/11/2015 12:05 am Also, I'm still curious what everyone thinks about that long jagged line that crosses the entire reverse of the coin. I have studied it closely under magnification and it definitely is NOT a die crack. If this penny were North America, the thing would be the Continental Divide. Everything to the "east" of the division is at a slightly higher elevation. Everything to the left is at a slightly lower elevation. To me, it gives the appearance of a very thin layer of metal having peeled away from the "west" side of the planchet prior to the striking of the coin. Edited by ConfederateHalf 02/11/2015 12:06 am Report this Post to the Staff
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