I ALMOST missed it...thank goodness I'm thorough.

I received a large group of mint/proof sets today, and was having a great day (found 7 good varieties including 4 1970 S BU Small Date Lincoln Cents and 3 1974 D Kennedy Half DDO.)

Great day so far, right?

Well, I had a batch of proof sets sitting in a drawer that I've had for about two months...just sitting in the dark, unloved. (cue sad cello suite) I decided I'd merge the two groups, so I pulled out the first batch and started adding them in to the stacks of the new batch...when I had a thought: "Wait...did I actually go through these?"

I thought I had. I usually do. But I wasn't sure. I started adding them in.

Then my OCD side kicked in...no, you really should double check. If you can't remember...that counts as NOT having done it. So I went back through them.

Sure enough, hiding in a random 1971 Proof set sat this coin - a coin I remember seeing (so I DID go through them) but I remember thinking, "Ugh, what a nasty black spot on the back of Lincoln's head.") I do NOT remember seeing the true beauty of this coin:

1971 S Proof Lincoln Cent
Doubled Die Obverse FS-101​

(full coin - forgive me, these were shot through the OGP)



(closeup on LIBERTY)



(closeup on the date)



(closeup of the die dent on the reverse, after column #9)



​

The moral of my story is this - always check your sets, and if you can't clearly remember checking them, check them again.

Now, I have a question: how badly do you think that ugly black spot affects the grade/value? I really doubt it could be removed, but it's still a pretty desirable variety. What do you think?

 

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I think if you find a doubled die enthusiast who wants this specimen for his/her collection (spot included), you should sell it to him/her and let that person deal with the issue.​

 

Awesome finds and it's not OCD, it's due dilligence. And it paid off.

 

I do agree with your opinion on this - but then the question still stands - how much does the black spot affect the value? Because in selling it's important to have a general idea of what something is worth, right?

Yes, due diligence...and it's probably a result of having that nagging though that every cherrypicker must have, "I wonder how many valuable coins I've missed in my lifetime?" Haha...

 

Nice find. It pays to double check.

 

Oh, almost forgot - I also found a 1968 Mint set with an extra S mint cent in the nickel slot:



It's been a fun coin day.

 

That's a great error!

 

Wow, that’s a cool find too! Not a coin error but a packaging error lol. How much you think that’s worth?

 

No idea...haha...at least 1c more than a normal mint set!

 

It's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Sure, you can hold on to it because you think it is worth more, but you might be holding onto it for a long, long time because others may not like the spot. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

 

Fun that you have access to an OGP. And a fun find!!