1970 S Small Date Diagnostic - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,120
unholyroller Pillar of the Community United States 1903 Posts	Posted 09/23/2011 5:19 pm * Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. * When people post the question of "is this a small date" we always seem to focus on the curl of the nine and the "height" of the seven. For me it seems a lot easier to tell them apart by looking at landmarks on the seven itself. To me the large date has an easily recognizeable "pinch" where the top bar of the seven meets the down stroke. In addition the downstroke appears thicker toward the bottom. Lastly the down stroke also appears it be curved along the left edge. The small date has no "pinch" to it and has a more uniform thickness to the down stroke. Am I just deluding myself or are these reliable characteristics? To me these seem to be more defined and less subjective than the appearance of the curl on the nine, which in coins I have handled always seem to have some degree of damage to it Edited by unholyroller 09/23/2011 5:38 pm Report this Post to the Staff

KenKat Pillar of the Community United States 4085 Posts	Posted 09/23/2011 7:53 pm I have seen the pinch you are talking about in pictures, but I just checked my LD and SD 70-S Lincolns and did not see that attribute on the Large Date (or the small). I end up looking at a combination of things to try to determine the variety, including the loop of the nine, the alignment of the 7 with the zero and especially the 9 in the date, and the strike on Liberty. The shape of the 7 is probably one more diagnostic to look for, but I don't think you can necessarily rely on it exclusively. Ken My 7070 US Type Set My 7100 Lincoln Cent Set (now with updates!) Report this Post to the Staff
numismo Rest in Peace United States 3039 Posts	Posted 09/23/2011 8:45 pm After seeing pix of both of them long enough, you'll be able to tell them apart easily enuf. Report this Post to the Staff
RollHunter Pillar of the Community United States 687 Posts	Posted 09/24/2011 11:44 am It's funny how a coin like this confuses so many people (myself included until I found one). I always look at LIBERTY first - if it's sharp I don't even bother looking at the date. Otherwise I find that the curl/shape of the 9 is easiest to see, followed by the "crease" between the two strokes of the 7 on the large date. Report this Post to the Staff
coppercoins Pillar of the Community United States 7629 Posts	Posted 09/25/2011 10:02 am There are indeed a number of differences in the design between the two date sizes of 1970S cents. A few things to clarify reality: 1. The 7 of the date and that "pinch" you mention is a VERY reliable diagnostic point - on coins with no wear. Once wear comes onto the coins, that pinch becomes less and less identifiable. 2. Any difference between the two - the nine, the zero, the seven, or any other diagnostic you choose should be combined with others to ensure accuracy in determining which you have. One alone - ANY one alone - isn't enough. 3. Just looking at LIBERTY isn't good enough. I have seen unusually strong characters on small dates, and I have seen very soft large dates. The diagnostic of looking for a weak LIBERTY is about 80% reasonably accurate, while knowing the differences in the shape of the digits of the date are 100% accurate. Report this Post to the Staff
RollHunter Pillar of the Community United States 687 Posts	Posted 09/26/2011 12:52 am See, and here I thought all the small dates had a weak LIBERTY (but not the opposite)! Good think the pros are on the ball with corrections - sorry for the misinformation! Report this Post to the Staff
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