What's a wheel mark, and where is mine?

I just bought an UNC DETAILS (Obverse Wheel Mark) 1930 Lincoln Cent. The auction listing at David Lawrence started at $10 and listed an expected sale price of $15. So I was, of course, the only bidder. They didn't even charge postage. Just $10.

I only bid because I could not see a problem. And, only $10!

Can you tell me what is a wheel mark? And do you see anything on this cent that would cause it to be detailed? The only thing I see is a die crack at the base of the bust, just above V.D.B.

You can see the holder at NGC 4463481-150 (if you need the grade to see it, it's 60).

 

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From a coin counting machine. I see a few hairlines upper right obverse but no wheel mark. I’d crack and try again

 

@RonSanderson

https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/4412/Wheel-Marks/

Chris

 

What is that running top to bottom through the RT of LIBERTY?

 

Based on the explanation Chris linked to, this must be the area of hairlines that they judged to be a wheel mark. They point out that the effect is subtle and generally visible only from one lighting angle.

As with any coin, the collector has to decide how much any particular flaw matters.

I have to say, I simply do not care about this one. It's hard for me to get worked up about this compared to the obvious die wear on the back and the smearing of the letters ATES and ICA. For that matter, I have seen hairlining from die scratches that exceeds this, but it passes muster just because the mint did it, not a coin counter.

I actually think these might be from die polishing. The lines appear to dive under Lincoln's nose and chin and (almost) disappear. If they were from contact with a coin counter, the higher profile of his face should be more scratched than the fields. Yet, there are few visible scratches on Lincoln, indicating that the scratches were made to the die, where the fields are the high points and the face is in a depression.

Without the discovery of this set of parallel hairlines the coin would be an easy 65 and likely a 66.

 

I don't know for sure, but it looks like it might be an irregularity in the planchet that created some surface roughness, which then toned at a different rate, giving a bit of patterned coloration to that area.

Here's a full-size crop of the area.

 

The wheel mark they are talking about, looks like die deterioration to me. Or just the lack of detail from my cell phone. But either way it may be minor and just a slight circular flash under certain light. Hard to tell it may be mis labeled.

 

the
e in front of pluribus looks off! almost like a rim cudd

 

Better detail of that area. I see a continuous clear inner edge to the rim. The mark through the letters could be dirt.

Edit: Not dirt, just a curvature in the coin surface where light reflects away from the camera and makes the surface less bright than the surroundings. It is obvious in the animation. I shoulda known.

 

I don't see a wheel mark

 

I submitted a group of Washington quarters for a friend last year, one of which didn't grade due to wheel marks. I wasn't aware this was a thing, at least a thing that would keep a coin from being graded. Would this, could this be graded as an error? It was part of the minting process.

I didn't really know what they were suppose to look like until I posted the quarter on one of the message boards asking for help in identifying what and where the wheel mark(s) was.

You can see the lines running from the breast to the eagles right wing. Also on the neck and in the field to the left of UNUM into the top tip of the eagle's right wing.
Click on the images to make larger.

 

Great photos, Bob. My understanding of wheel marks is that they usually are only visible (in hand) with the coin tilted at a sharp angle to a light source. Did you have to adjust your lights to bring out the lines?
Personally, I don't see them as much of a problem, as discreet as they are. This could be a good opportunity to pick up nice coins at a hefty discount. No joy for the initial submitter, though!

 

Surely those are flow marks, large and prominent as expected on a reverse die this worn...?

 

My best guess would be the patch rising from the date, spreading across the 9 and 3 and oriented in a 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock direction. But that's the same orientation as the other lines, for which I would've accepted the die-polish explanation.

 

I took the photo when it was raw, before it was sent to PCGS and before I knew anything about wheel marks.

I took two other photos along with this one and the marks weren't as prominent.

 

I don't honestly know. I posted this on the CU site after receiving the notation of the coin not grading due to wheel marks.

These markings are the ones that were pointed out to me by the experts there. I had no idea what a wheel mark was, let alone what they look like. I see nothing else in the photo that would point to a wheel mark being present except for what I was told.

Here is the obverse. Maybe you can spot a wheel mark. I sure can't.

 

I don't think those are flow marks, they are not oriented radially, as the actual flow marks (clearly seen ) appear to be.

 

so what is that around the e on the cent ?

 

There are lots of E's but here is the one I am pretty sure you mean!

After trying a lot of different tilts and light angles, I think there may, in fact be a cud projecting from the top of the E in E PLURIBUS UNUM.

It would be easier to see if I released the coin from its plastic tomb, which I was planning to do. Now, however, I kind of like having a clearly misgraded coin so it may just stay in the holder. (Misgraded - Bob's quarter has the marks on the high points. Mine has them in the fields and the high points are untouched. To me, they are just die scratches, perhaps from a wire brush clearing away debris.)

 

I took it to mean the E in CENT.

What is that in the field just to the left of the O in ONE.