Posted 07/05/2018 6:50 pm
Found this from Heritage:
"Rare 1964 SMS Lincoln Cent,
1964 1C SMS Red PCGS. Numismatists love a good mystery, and the 1964 SMS sets certainly provide one. The sets first appeared publicly in Stack's auctions in 1993 and 1994, as far as we can tell. The prevailing view is that they originated in the estate of former Mint Director Eva Adams and were bought by coin dealer Lester Merkin.
Like all of the 1964 SMS coins this cataloger has examined, the present Lincoln Cent displays an extremely sharp strike with high, squared-off rims, and heavy, haphazard die polishing, here more prominent on the obverse. The effect of the overall die preparation is a hurried appearance, as though these pieces, although clearly given special attention to, were never intended for any official or presentation purposes. The obverse left and right fields have extensive, heavy die polishing lines that run nearly from the lower rim to the peripheral legends at top. The color is brick-red, with a couple of brown flecks appearing under a loupe and some magenta on the high points. The strike is incisive: The viewer with a good loupe can count 18 full steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial, all full and bold all the way across. For pedigree purposes, a single small dark spot appears directly behind Lincoln's head, with some other flecks in the field above BE in LIBERTY.
The current online PCGS Population Report shows a total of 22 1964 SMS Lincoln cents certified, ranging from three in MS64 Red and Brown to two in MS68 Red. The present MS65 Red piece is one of four at PCGS (3/09).
"Rare 1964 SMS Lincoln Cent,
1964 1C SMS Red PCGS. Numismatists love a good mystery, and the 1964 SMS sets certainly provide one. The sets first appeared publicly in Stack's auctions in 1993 and 1994, as far as we can tell. The prevailing view is that they originated in the estate of former Mint Director Eva Adams and were bought by coin dealer Lester Merkin.
Like all of the 1964 SMS coins this cataloger has examined, the present Lincoln Cent displays an extremely sharp strike with high, squared-off rims, and heavy, haphazard die polishing, here more prominent on the obverse. The effect of the overall die preparation is a hurried appearance, as though these pieces, although clearly given special attention to, were never intended for any official or presentation purposes. The obverse left and right fields have extensive, heavy die polishing lines that run nearly from the lower rim to the peripheral legends at top. The color is brick-red, with a couple of brown flecks appearing under a loupe and some magenta on the high points. The strike is incisive: The viewer with a good loupe can count 18 full steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial, all full and bold all the way across. For pedigree purposes, a single small dark spot appears directly behind Lincoln's head, with some other flecks in the field above BE in LIBERTY.
The current online PCGS Population Report shows a total of 22 1964 SMS Lincoln cents certified, ranging from three in MS64 Red and Brown to two in MS68 Red. The present MS65 Red piece is one of four at PCGS (3/09).
Edited by Mark1959
07/05/2018 6:51 pm
07/05/2018 6:51 pm
well said, Mark.
