Here is a coin I found at a recent show, hiding in a binder of otherwise normal proof Lincolns: (shot in 2x2, lint and all) In case anyone's curious, here's the ranking of this coin in terms of rarity according to the Lincoln Cent Resource: 1. 1992 Close AM - extremely rare 2. 1998 S Close AM 3. 1992 D Close AM 4. 1999 S Close AM 5. 1999 Wide AM 6. 1998 Wide AM 7. 2000 Wide AM - least rare
Super great find! Congrats! That one ranks close to the rarest of all of the "Close AM" and "Wide AM" Varieties! Check out the figures that PCGS gives for the values at the link below. I am pretty sure that the article is quite old and values have gone up. http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=4762&universeid=313&type=1 Frank
Huntsman53, thanks for the link! Last time I spoke with John Wexler, he said that since proof LMC die runs are limited to 3,000 strikes--that might represent the total run for both the 98-S and 99-S close AM proofs. Btw, I found the 1999-S close AM proof earlier this year too. Both were totally random "what the heck, I'll check" type finds. (A friend on Coppercoins.com built the image below) (shot in another dusty 2x2)
Kurt, Now, if you could put together a complete and graded set of all of the "Close AM" and "Wide AM" Variety Cents, then that would be something! I would imagine that you already have the 1998-P through 2000-P "Wide AM" Business Strike Cents. So, now all that you need is the 1992 "Close AM" Business Strike Cents (and if I am not mistaken, there is supposed to be a 1992-P and 1992-D). A nice MS and graded set of these, should fetch a pretty Penny or two! Frank
Frank, Since I live on the W.Coast, I don't find enough P-mint LMCs to find those business strike wide AMs. But I found 2 1998 wide AMs in a $25 box a friend shipped from back East. I do keep on the lookout for the 92-D close AM, no such luck yet, but I'll keep trying.
I think the jury is out on the "worth" question until the number of die pairs is established and total run of coins is determined. I think John Wexler is trying to study enough examples to figure that out. Currently, I recall that demand is higher for the 1998-S and so are prices. On Dec 6th, a 1998-S PR69 close AM went for $920 on Heritage. The 99-S bring less. Needless to say, I'm holding onto these coins until more is known. :smile
Kurt, If you have intentions of selling the coin and are waiting on the number of the total specimens to come out, then you could miss out on selling the coin at a higher premium! When the total of known struck coins and known specimens goes up, then the value of all of the specimens (no matter what grade) will go down. It is possible that you could boost the value of your' specimen by submitting your story about the find to Coin World, then offer the coin for sale once the issue with the story comes out! You could include a copy of the Coin World issue with the purchase of the coin, thus giving it some provenance. Frank
You could be right, but I'm not too concerned about long-term market price, because these coins are currently rather unknown if dealer awareness is any indication. However, if over time these coins gain visibility as a collectible variety, I think these limited die runs combined with possible upturned demand will not hurt the price. Whatever the outcome, I simply like these finds and want to keep them....it's a gut thing.
KURTS, THAT'S WORTH TEN TIMES MY 5 2000 WIDE A M's, 2 1998 wide A M's, 1 1999 wide A M plus my 1994 165* CCW die rotated lincoln. Again, good going.---zg
