1988-P Lincoln Cent Flared G

If you're going to misquote me, can you at least give me a formal credit for something that sounds cool and/or funny?

What I said in the other post was not looking for varieties in highly worn coins was a crap shoot, but actually:




In any event, my opinion is that neither of these is RDV 006. The first is pretty clearly RDV 005 on what appears to be an over polished die. The thin oblong G, where the top of the letter hangs all the way over the vertical arm of the G, is a dead give away.

The second one has me leaning towards RDV 005 because the top of the G issue as well and I just don't see anything on the top or bottom of the vertical arm of the G to suggest a "flair". It does look like a very crisp early die state coin.

One piece of advice? Always load a full shot of the obverse and reverse of a coin because there are often clues on one side or the other to help with identification. In this case, the reverse design includes changes to the the way the letters in AMERICA appear.

Many people think identifying this difference between RDV 005 and RDV 006 is easier than cyphering out the FG.

Check out the VV page as their photos are really clear:

http://www.varietyvista.com/01b%20L...arieties.htm

The top coin is definitely an ordinary 005. I believe the bottom coin is just RDV-005 with Die Deterioration and a plating split left of the G hook that makes it look wider. The top of the G overhangs the post, which is typical of RDV-005. On RDV-006, the post protrudes rightwards and out from under the top.

I agree with the statement about the AM. On a marginal FG, it is way easier to locate the rounded or squared AM.

A helpful diagram from Jason Cuvelier, first introduced to me by Tacc on a prior 1988 Flared G discussion:

I agree, not flared. Normal 005