Was hoping to gain insight on this 2012D shield cent. Running through $100 in Lincoln Cents and just getting started in Variety and Error type coins. After 35 years of staring at pennies, I thought I'd start REALLY looking at them for more than filling books. Please share your thoughts and if possible a ballpark figure on what you'd sell this one for. Thanks a bunch! Stay Safe and happy hunting!
In case you're falling into the same trap I did, where I could have sworn there was true die doubling on a newish copper-plated zinc cent - turn down the lights. Light reflection can really look like doubling - I know this by experience.
I used the same lighting now for roughly 700 cents, new and old, Shiny and dull; if I see doubling, I rotate the coin 360 degrees around the feature that looks doubled. If the "doubling" disappears at any point in rotating, I place it in with my coin rolls. This is the first one where the doubling didn't disappear with a shift in light source on the Obverse. The reverse is questionable. I understand the optics on my USB microscope may not shine perpendicular to the surface, so I move it around the whole field of view and rotate it. Most of the time, the non double dies will have the features in question look normal at different angles. I've been looking at coins most of my life, but am always eager to learn techniques.
I would like to see images of the EPU area? To see if the devices are enlarged or reduced. Enlarged would mean Machine Doubling. A reduction of devices would be a DDR. That might be more helpful right now. On the initials, it might be a split plating issue? So the EPU might be more helpful.
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