I checked www.coppercoins.com and was unable to find a match for either of these. There are some on that site that have no photos available. So maybe someone here can tell me if 1 or both of these are RPM's. Thank You
I dont think they are RPMs...if I am not mistaken when I first joined I posted a question exactly like this and thought it was a form of die detoriation. -Shrek
The 1987 is very much like one I posted today. I think the one I posted shows a bit more of the underlying date and mark ? I guess if we find a few thousand, it might bbe called a variety ?
It's damage caused as the die causes the plating to split during the strike. Then corrosion begins to effect the appearance of the mintmark. These are not errors nor will they ever be a variety. It is a simple form of damage seen on billions of post-1982 plated cents minted in the 1980s and early 1990s.
This is a pretty consistent explanation and thank you. I guess the question remains , how to tell the difference on these 1980'ish & 1990'ish cents if they are RPM's as listed on Coppercoins.com or just junk ? I supposed we just have to wait for images of verifiable attributed varieties/errors to be posted ?
If you see the plating exposed, it is likely a clunker. An RPM will have a specific look to it and will appear as two raised mint marks in very close proximity to each other. We look for things called splits and grooves. Splits happen where the serifs on the letters overlap. You will actually see a slight separation on parts of the mint mark effected by an RPM. Often the serifs of the D is effected on a Denver mint coin. Grooves are usually longer lines between the double images. The groove will be between two raised portions of the mint mark. It takes some time to learn what's good and what is junk but it is well worth it. Thanks, Bill
Bill, I got interested in RPM's when I found these last month. One is VERY obviously an RPM and the other looks like a partial rotated mint mark at the very end of the tail of the 9. I only have a magnifying glass and my eyes are not to good , so it is hard to search for some of the numerous varieties that require 10X or more magnification.
