1931-S Lincoln Cent that weighs 3.24 grams -- seeking opinions

That's a nice 25-D too! I have no problem with it. It's a very tough coin to find with a reverse that nice.

 

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Thanks, SuperDave, for the advice regarding the photography and the characteristics of the coin itself. The point & shoot camera in question is an HP Photosmart R717 that was purchased early in 2005--which makes it a venerable dinosaur in computer years. It was a top of the line camera for it's class more than a decade ago, and over the years I've captured some amazing shots with it. However, it definitely shows it's age in regard to trying to obtain high resolution pictures of coins. Speaking of which, nice shot of the 1926, illustrating what we're talking about. (BTW, I probably ought to invest in a new camera, but it just hasn't been a priority...)

Thanks, BadThad, for the compliment on the 1925-D. On the one hand, it's kind of frustrating that the coin has that really nice reverse with such a weak obverse. Early on I was really puzzled (and kind of irritated) by this phenomena, but it prompted me to learn about die wear, and now I've come to accept that every cent has it's own unique character. This is particularly true in regard to toning. After sorting through literally thousands of Lincoln cents over the past 18 months, I've learned that there appears to be no limit to the ways in which copper cents can tone, and toning can be quite attractive, as (IMHO) is the case with RonSanderson's 1913.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion.

And, thanks to Granddad for leaving behind the treasure trove. Took me a long time to finally get around to delving into it, but I have gained a real appreciation for numismatics (and apparently a new hobby that my wife can complain about my spending too much time on). Although it's my grandfather on my Mom's side, Dad says he's pretty sure Grandpa wouldn't have bothered to purchase coins from dealers. This would have been back in the 50s, and the overall characteristics of his collection support Dad's theory.

For example, he left behind the 1914-D pictured below, which I have to think must have come from circulation, because, alas, this is the only "key date" I was able to find. The vast majority of everything else, with a few exceptions (such as the relatively nice 1925-D), were fairly common dates--although some in high grades.

Regardless, finding this 1914-D certainly made my day!

 

Your camera is old, but it has the distinct advantage of relatively large physical pixels. All point-and-shoots are a compromise, and Macro imaging tends to be a low priority in the compromise process, so modern high-megapixel cameras don't always receive a lot of attention regarding software processing of Macro images. "Good enough" tends to be the default, and we're pixel-peepers in this business.

It seems you've already figured out what works best with your particular kit - your images are pretty decent, shot nicely square and appropriately cropped.

That's one_lovely 1914-D, which certainly didn't get very much circulation. Might we see the reverse? I see nothing on the obverse to make me believe the coin is worth less than $1000....these have a large value jump between XF and AU and this one certainly seems to fall into the latter category.

 

That is one sharp 14-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is no way that coin is less than AU, but may have been cleaned. There is too much glare to know for sure. Even cleaned, it could get $800 - $900. If original, it goes for $1000 and up.

 

This coin does not have acceptable color.

 

I suspect it is mostly his lighting, but you might be right.

 

Let's think about it. Light reflects from a coin's surface and produces a color. Check out the color of the coin in Post#22. Note how even it is. Glossy brown w/traces of red. For the sake of this post, the 14-D is natural and its color is uniform.

While different lighting can change the color of the 14-D, it will still be uniform. The light cannot change the color of specific spots on a coin unless there is a reason such as damage, cleaning, and chemically altered surfaces. That is why IMO, that one coin is chemically altered and toning back. Pink-orange on copper is Baddddd!

The coin is corroded behind the head.

 

I'll follow up her shortly with more pics and a detailed history for the 1914-D...

 

@Insider and @rlm's cents, I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but I will post these two pictures to illustrate the points about unusual luster and coloring. They are taken with slightly different angles to the light, with all other settings equal. (The earlier photos were from the dealer.)

To be open about it, the seller listed it as "BU Details" and I bought it as such. However the toning makes it worth having, in my book.

Caveats aside, I hope @jfm9561 benefits from any opinions you may have, as will I.

 

@RonSanderson wrote: "Caveats aside, I hope @@jfm9561 benefits from any opinions you may have, as will I."

My opinion has not changed: Harshly cleaned (Details, artificial color) to remove corrosion (Details, pitted surface).

 

A "short while" was interrupted by a 5+ hour, ice storm induced power outage…

In regard to the 1914-D's appearance: I have provided additional photos from a flatbed scanner and from the aforementioned HP point & click (without the flash). Clearly this illustrates how varied a coin's appearance can be based on the image capture technique that is utilized. In regard to having the coin in plain view right in front of me, it has what appears to be a very typical, soft brown color, with a barely discernable tinge of a greenish-yellow hue in places, and the vaguest remnants of mint luster on the most inaccessible surfaces, such as around the date, under Lincoln's bust, and along the edge of the back of his head. Granted, my experience is limited, but that said, during the past 18 months I have individually inspected literally thousands of Lincoln cents from 1909 to the present, and I have seen many that are toned like this. As far as I can tell, it appears to be toned in a quite common manner.

In regard to the 1914-D's provenance, if anyone is interested in this sort of thing, following is the story of how I came to be in possession of this coin.

I have no idea how exactly my grandfather may have obtained it (aside from the fact that it most likely came from circulation). All I know for certain is that sometime after 1960 (the copyright date on the coin album) and before 1972 (when he passed away) he put it a Whitman Lincoln Cents 1909-1940 coin album. I've provided photos of this album because if you look closely at the one that shows it open, against the edges of the pale blue paper you can see the discoloration of water damage all around the perimeter.

In regard to the flood, the story is this. My parents owned a split level house that backs to a slope. Approximately 20 years ago it rained four inches in two hours, and this event flooded the basement (fortunately, rain water runoff and not sewer backup). Grandpa's coin collection was stored in cardboard boxes in the basement. I do not know the precise details of what exactly happened at that time. It appears that the collection as a whole was removed from saturated boxes and placed into different boxes; however, proper care was not taken to remove all the coins individually and properly dry them before returning them to what had already been improper storage in a damp, musty basement.

The collection remained in these horrid circumstances until approximately 18 months ago when the basement once again flooded, this time due to excessive rain and a subsequent sump pump failure (again just rain water, not sewage; and the coins were on a table above the waterline). By this time my parents had moved out of state years ago, and my wife and I are now residing in the house. This being the case, the basement was filled with not only a lot of junk my parents had collected during their lives, but also many things from both sides of the extended family, and which my parents took the opportunity to leave behind when they moved. I knew there was a mold/mildew/moisture problem, but for years I had put off dealing with it. The second flood forced me to take action. Literally everything came out of the basement, including Grandpa's long neglected coin collection.

I have since spent the past 18 months actively learning about coins. Unfortunately, there were many coins from Grandpa's collection that did not fare as well as the Lincoln cents in the Whitman album. Quarters, half-dollars, dimes and nickels were all in albums that had apparently been saturated much worse than the Lincoln cents. I have properly stored the other denominations, but haven't pursued investigating them beyond that. Primarily, I'm just interested in Lincoln Cents.

In regard to the photos of the Whitman's Lincoln Cents coin album, I specifically tried to depict how bad the plastic inserts are. I don't think it shows well in the pictures. They are tinged a beige color and have dust, debris and a cloudy scum coating them. These plastic inserts are what was holding the coins in the albums that had apparently been compromised by floodwater. The 1914-D, coming out of a water damaged coin album, went straight into a Dawn dish-soap bath, followed by a cold water rinse, and was then padded dry with an old towel that is very soft. I suppose there are die hard "no cleaning" extremists who might find this to be an offensive treatment. To that I say: it's my coin, and it's going to remain in my collection. It is now stored in a Guardhouse coin capsule, and I prefer not to include tiny bits of dirt and grime with it in that capacity.

In a nutshell, this 1914-D spent at least four decades improperly stored in cardboard boxes in multiple basements (going back to Grandma's house), and went through two floods. This being the case, IMHO, it has toned rather nicely, all things considered.

 

IMHO, your contribution to the discussion is relevant, since we are talking about toning. Your 1913 looks pretty cool to me, as far as I'm concerned.

 

You need to take that coin to an expert to see if it has been cleaned (I don't think so) and see if the reverse can be conserved. If it can get a normal grade, it will pay for your troubles. Even if it cannot, it should be authenticated

 

Appears to be a mint state 14D - looks amazing to me. I agree with RLM 100% here.

 

Thanks for the advice regarding the 14-D. It's been a while since I've looked at it. It has that small spot of verdigris under the "S" on the reverse, which isn't as nice as the obverse. I agree it would be worthwhile to have an expert examine it.