Found a couple of pennies that caught my attention this morning that are like nothing I’ve observed or read about before and wanted your opinions on them. the first is a ‘56 penny. I first saw the N in CENT, then the D in UNITED and the E in STATES. I know it must be the dreaded PMD but can’t imagine what would cause this damage in such random coins. The second is the 53D. I see what appears to be a well formed S in TRUST but with an added flair. It looks like the “swirl” on a Dairy Queen ice cream cone. Are these common? Are these face value coins or should I hold on to them?
@Oldhoopster stated - You're right. Both coins have the dreaded PMD. Copper is a soft metal, so it doesn't take much of a hit to move the metal around If you want to find error couns, you need to change your line of thinking. It's never a good idea to say "I don't understand how this damage could occur, so maybe it's an error". You should be thinking "what part of the minting and die making process could have caused that defect". The minting process is well understood and documented. There are only so many ways an error can occur. However, there is an almost unlimited number of ways a coin can be damaged once it leaves the mint. I agree!
@Chip Kirkpatrick Ya see, Mary Todd Lincoln had a very bad temper, and when she got mad at old Abe, she would throw things. ~ Chris
Perhaps Lincoln stayed out late playing pool. I've seen many a mad wife start throwing pool balls at the old man.
Before my wife and I were married, I used to take her to the poolroom with me from time to time. Of course, I was usually gambling. She would sit quietly watching me play, and when we finally quit, I would give her a few hundred bucks to buy whatever she wanted. This went on for a few years, but after we got married, this all began to change. She didn't like me spending so much time in the poolroom. Would you like to know what I learned from this? I learned that I don't miss her at all! ~ Chris
I understand what you’re saying about the first coin but it certainly appears (to me) that the second coin has the same “condition” as this coin. What am I missing
It looks like there is a remnant of the top loop of the S that's lower than the rest of the letter. That along with the raised area looks a lot like displaced metal, not a die crack Also look at all of the other dings and hits on the coin. Big gouges on Lincoln's head, a couple rim dings, marks on the jacket and collar, and possibly the fields (pics are too pixilated to blow up). With all of that, couldn't the S have been damaged as well? You've got opinions that it's damage, but it's your coin, call it whatever you want
You're getting better as you are right. Both coins suffer from PMD. When you see a coin that makes you wonder ask yourself how could that have occurred at the Mint. Where in the minting process would that occur? If you can't answer that it's probably PMD.
oh course it can be damaged but with damage I’d expect the “basic” S would be distorted but it sure appears to me that S is still as it should be and that is “extra”, kind of like a cud.