The 1949-S Lincoln Wheat Cent is the the 2nd lowest minted cent for the period between 1940 and 1958. 1.) I am wondering why it does not command more of a premium. 2.) Does anyone know if the satin like mint luster on the 1949-S was intentional because I do not see many high grades that are blazing red. 3.) If someone could share some of their knowledge of what was going on with the San Francisco Mint at that time and why they went with such a soft strike design. Thanks
Well, it may be the second lowest minted but SF still pumped out 64 million. Not exactly scarce. As for price, it doesn't do badly at all compared to its peers in the 1940s. Price is often driven by condition census. At the 67RD grade PCGS has certified 141. Whereas a 1949 67RD has just 8 certified, and a 1949-D, just 31. Strike for the '49-S varies. Some are nice and sharp. Others less so. The below example is just average, IMO. I don't know that the color or surface is that unusual. But I don't pay enough attention to the later wheaties. Lance.
Branch mint coins were pretty widely hoarded. Tons of rolls and individuals are in the marketplace....more than enough to satisfy collector demand. It's all about supply and demand in collecting.
Not just the L. The I and B too. If you read LIBERTY backwards you will see that the letters start off strong and get progressively worse as you approach the rim of the coin. It is likely a flow issue or a thin planchet where not enough metal reaches the far end of the coin to fill the die recesses. If the planchet were smooth these letters would simply be weak. But they're not just weak, they're rough because that planchet wasn't smooth. Same for Lincoln's shoulder, a notorious high spot that often shows planchet roughness. It's one of the first things Lincoln collectors look at when examining strike. I didn't show the reverse but it has an awful O in ONE and weakness in the PLU in PLURIBUS. This area of the coin is directly opposite Lincoln's shoulder. Sometimes the AM in AMERICA suffers because it is opposite the center of Lincoln's head. TPG's often forgive these strike issues (PCGS graded this 67RD). But collectors shouldn't. I'll replace this cent when I find a nicer one. Lance.
@Lance I have not been able to find a single example at Teletrade , HA nor Sacks of a 1949-S MS68 RD or higher. The OBV of your example perfectly displays the type of softer or subdued mint luster that seems to be common on this date/MM. I would like to see a photo of the REV because most examples I have seen show even less impressive reverses and sometimes what look like problem coins , but somehow still get graded as MS by NGC and PCGS. That is sort of why I posed the intial question. It seems that this date/MM receive similar treatment from the TPG's as say some of the weak strikes from the 1920's. I wonder if the San Francisco Mint itself had anything to do with the preparation or treatment of the planchets for this Lincoln date or if they came prepared from some other location. In my search for more info on this date/MM , stumbled across this thread http://www.cointalk.com/t54291/ that says the SF Mint was busy restriking some 1898 Mexico Silver Pesos for use as trade dollars in China that year and wonder if the handling and preparation of different denominations at the same time in the same Mint had an impact on the cent. Your Thoughts ?
There are few dates that get any Lincolns graded 68 and only a single 69 so it does not surprise me you cannot find any. Presently, there are none graded 68 for any 1949 mint. As for other planchet usage, I also do not see that affecting anything. Not only does Philly make all US coins, but they once made the majority (I believe) of the worlds coin.
Right. For the entire wheaties series there are only 66 MS68's, and four dates alone have more than half of them. As rls says, there's only a single MS69. It belongs to Stewart Blay and it is incredible. The obverse is below. Talking PCGS, here. NGC has awarded many more lofty grades. But still, MS68 is very difficult. So don't waste any more time looking for 68RD '49-S cents, kangayou. You may be onto something but as I said earlier I don't pay too much attention to the late Wheaties. I can tell you that of the 50+ 67RD's I own many of them have their weaknesses. There are random strike issues and of course copper is tough love, being a reactive metal subject to spotting and color change. I haven't noticed that this '49-S is much different from adjacent years and MM's, though. At one time, as I'm sure you know, Philly kept the good planchets and sent the ugly stuff to the branch mints (or so we're told). I doubt that was a problem after the mid-30's. There are some knowledgable collectors here who may have better information. You might want to ask Roger Burdette ("RWB" on the PCGS and NGC forums) if he has information. Roger is something of an expert about Mint operations and has written many great articles about his research and findings. Fascinating stuff, I think. Lance.
You missed the 400 or so MS68 steel cents. As an added note, every date I could find MS68's for, the majority were PCGS and for most dates, there were 0 for NGC
I think it is closer to 200 but you are correct. Everyone saved steel pennies when they were first released so they don't fit the normal release and circulation of wheat cents. Take a look at the 67RD NGC pops and you will see a stark difference. 28k out of 144k submitted (NGC) versus 10k out of 193k (PCGS). MS68 numbers are too small, statistically, to be meaningful. Lance.
