Luster

It's late and I cant think of a simple answer. Luster counts in complicated ways.

I reckon that a 1909 Lincoln Cent, never touched by human hands and stored in perfect conditions may retain its original luster for a long time. Then again, it may go from pure RD (red) to RB (red/brown) to BN (brown) and still be in its original mint state.

Go on ebay and search 1909 Lincoln Cent AU. You will notice a huge difference in the lusters from sale to sale.

Then search 1909 Lincoln Cent MS. You will notice (and note) that there are different colors and lusters between the various MS65s RD, RB, BN...yet, many are certified MS coins.

It's fairly safe to say (in a general way) that luster on AU coins is less important than on MS coins because AU coins have been circulated and cant really help but change color and lose luster.

I use ebay because it's very simple to negotiate. I dont suggest it as a sole resource for education. For the purposes of explaining what I posted, ebay is superior to heritage for simple searches.


i go to ebay
i type in 1909 Lincoln Cent AU
i get 20 immediate hits.

i go to ha and I take it takes about 3 - 5 steps to get up examples of coins I'm looking for.

Heck, doing a yahoo image search of 1909 Lincoln Cent is easy, too.

My experience and opinion only.