Question About 1956 Wheat Penny

I think it's damage. The actual D/D variety for this date shows a very faint D complete but faint below. Both are complete. Looking at the 6 in the date and the D, I think your coin may have some counting machine damage. I have seen coins that have had complete numbers and/or letters wiped right off the coin this way.

metalman OMM subcategory of the RPM in which the secondary mint mark(in this case the first punch)came from a punch intendeed for a different mint.i found this definition on the CONECA web site. right slash ( / )designates overdate,doubled date,overmintmark,or doubled mintmark,as 2/1 ,2/2 ,D/S D/D found this definition in alan herbert's book
'the official price guide to mint error's' (sixth edition) http://coppercoins.com/lincoln/dies...ie_state=lds*this is different link*.i am just past my second year in the error/variety field , certainly learning everyday and far from being an expert.my answer or at least my perspective is that (both) D/S as an "aditional" or seperate mint mark exist (as the first link I posted and is how in my own mind took it. as well as a OMM (overmintmark) D/S exist as this new link will take you to.

I was under the impression that it was a damage, as susan said, which makes sense. I did see the larger looking symbol (mm). Are any of you saying it might have a error or something or that it has been re-punched. If So reply telling me what you think, and what the error,etc. is! Thanks, Chris

I see something at the bottom inside Lincoln's coat. Maybe it's just some kind of lighting distortion or something. Is there anything there? Is there a raised blob of metal there? The 6 in 56, IMO, is not machine damage it's hub damage. A piece broke from the 6 in the hub and they dressed-up what was left of it to look like that. The hub is what they use to make the final die that strikes the coin. It's the same as the coin itself raised and positive. It's used to sink a die that is negative--(mirror or reversed) and incused and that die strikes the coin that is again raised and positive. It would not be hard for something to break off of the hub--(raised), especially hubs from the 50's. The steel the mint used for their hubs and dies in the 50's basically sucked.

It may be a Cud.

Were you able to see what that is in Lincoln's coat, whether it looks like a Cud or something else or nothing at all? That area is a typical spot where technicians used to do a test punch. The amount of pressure had to be exact when sinking a mintmark, otherwise the mintmark might be to high or too shallow. Sometimes they would punch the mark in Lincoln's coat using what they thought was the right amount of pressure and then adjusting when they did the real punch. The idea was that the mintmark inside Lincoln coat would get blown away on the coin from striking. If it is a test punch or a Cud it should be worth something. It also has to extend to the rim to be a Cud, otherwise it's just a piece out of the die and very typical of the dies they used in the 50's. A Cud is also a piece out of the die but it has to go to rim. I wish I could tell you what it might be worth but I really don't know.

Well, sorry couldn't get a very good picture. It could very well be a D, or it could be damage but like I have said it's too hard to tell. *QUESTION* I know that cleaning coins is pretty much a no-no. But, is there any way I can get the black stuff off this penny. I wish there was b/c then I could see it much better. Thanks, Chris