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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,062 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6108 Posts |
So this one is interesting. The coin is struck on a fragment, which is very thin. Maybe either a broken split planchet or a lost lamination peel from another coin. Either way, it only weighs 0.58g so a tiny bit of copper overall. And another fascinating thing, and maybe some sort of key to learning a bit more of its history, is what appears to be a clash on the reverse. There is a raised bar(s) on the stairs along with a pattern in the field below. I haven't been able to place exactly what that is yet, but am hoping the experts here on CCF will see it and be able to figure out what that design is from. As for the date, from a distance it looks very much like 1961, but when you get in close there appears to be a light curve across the top of the final digit like it was a 2 or similar. Unsure if some date overlays would help here, but would be fantastic to be able to get a certifiable date on the coin. Thanks for looking, and comments welcome and needed. 196X Lincoln Memorial cent mint error - struck on fragment 0.58g       |
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Valued Member
United States
109 Posts |
looks like somebody cut this penny with something, I can see a jagged edge where it was cut
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Moderator
 United States
34397 Posts |
Well I disagree with @wheat that this is a post-mint manufactured error as I think that it is legit, if perhaps mint-assisted.
A couple aspects are interesting to me. First, at least one and perhaps both of the corners might have been double-struck. In particular, the corner beyond ICA looks extra flattened, with a partial letter visible. Or maybe this is just such an odd duck that my brain trying to make sense of what it is seeing.
The second aspect is the roughly straight edge from the bottom of CENT past the corner of the Lincoln Memorial. To @wheat's point, this edge is somewhat jagged, but to me it looks like the distressed metal of a break following back and forth bending of metal.
Those are my thoughts anyway. I'm super-interested to see what others think. Maybe one for @mike diamond?
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
95200 Posts |
I agree with Spence - it does look like the coin was bent many times over to break off that straight edge. I'm curious at the what the curved edge of the coin looks like (the area to the left of Lincoln's head.) Nice clash on the 'reverse' though. Without having a Memorial cent in front of me to compare, I'm having a herd time seeing what part of the coin the clash came from. It seems that the 'N' (of the clash) is raised and centered on the stair sand off to the right edge of them. But the N on a properly struck Memorial cent is at the rim. what is it doing in the center? also, Under the stairs, on the field it appears that the memorial building (?) appears to be imprinted into this coin. (incused?) which is very strange, and has no proper correlation to the 'N' on the stairs. Very confusing. (I hope I explained my thoughts well enough to be understood here). |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Never seen anything like it. Just wow.
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Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
Super cool incomplete coi(n)! I wonder if the bend along the straight edge was the result of having to forcefully remove it from the press or out-feed track..  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
8736 Posts |
After trying to make sense of what is going on here and spending more time on this than I would care admit  , I would have to refer to Occam's razor. Looking at the reverse, to the east of the N and E, there are very familiar jagged edges, that looks to be from a cutting apparatus, similar to tin snips. I think the areas that appear to be incuse and in relief, that don't seem to match anything that would match a clash, is because they are not from clashing, just damage. The thickness of the piece looks correct, if you were to remove the rims. All of these things lead me to believe it is a nice garage job. Very cool though though and you made me think more than normal on a Saturday morning.  -makecents-
Edited by -makecents-
12/18/2021 10:07 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
603 Posts |
I don't know whether this is post mint or an error, but I cant imagine the fragment striking up so well as thin as it is, So if it isn't PMD, maybe the planched was defective and weak, and the striking shattered it? |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
62064 Posts |
Looks like it was folded in half at one time, thus the affected steps? So they coin may have been straightened and split the planchet? (may have happened during coin counting?)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2734 Posts |
As several others have said, someone bent the struck tab of an off-center cent back and forth until it broke off from metal fatigue. Pity.
Error coin writer and researcher.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5887 Posts |
That's a shame, I also see that it has been bent and broken off.
-CH27
Collector of U.S. Coins, Varieties, and Colonial Coinage
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6108 Posts |
Thanks all and everyone for the great comments and conclusion. Yeah, much less fun than a struck on a fragment, but you don't win them all and still a neat-looking oddity even if damaged.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,062 |
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Posted 12/18/2021 06:02 am
