Here a odd 1925-S Wheat cent in a better grade you could tell what under the S is a D? Large S over small s. what do ya think??? :kewl:
I'm sure you're joking about an S over S or D. But it's a cool coin. The cent dies used by the branch mints in the 1920's were a mess and produced some interesting results. Notice the strong date impression, relative to the rest of the obverse. IN GOD is pretty strong too which makes sense, being opposite the date (in the same way a clipped coin is weak opposite the clip). TY in LIBERTY is strong and then detail diminishes toward the rim. This is a cent from a worn obverse die, likely with metal flow issues due to irregular planchet thickness and, probably, due to dies with excessive spacing (as the branches did to extend die life). My guess is these factors contributed to the appearance of the hill that the S mintmark sits on. Lots of metal on that side of the planchet. Normally that would result in a nice crisp date and MM. But not if the die spacing was liberal. The reverse is nicely struck too, in the central portion. O in ONE, AM in AMERICA. Less so toward the rim, another indication of a die spacing issue and/or planchet thickness. Just a bunch of educated guesses, really. Someone may have better ones. But you can be sure Philadelphia didn't send SF a die with the mintmark repunched over a D or S or there'd be a lot of similar pennies. Lance.
Yea, what Lance said. The branch mint cents from 1924 and 1925 were some of the worst produced. This coin shows how deteriorated the die(s) usually were. Finding well-struck branch mint cents from these years is extremely difficult. Lance owns the finest collection of 20's branch mint examples I've ever seen (pictures). If you get a chance, browse his registry set, it's simply amazing!
Thanks for the compliment, BadThad. But there are nicer sets out there. There are some amazingly wealthy Lincoln collectors who've been at it a long time. It appears they think nothing about dropping 5-digits on a single cent. And there are 142 wheaties in the popular PCGS "Basic Set, Circulation Strikes" registry. The very top sets are worth over $1M. Tell that to your gf or wife. "Hey honey, did you know that some collectors have spent more than a million bucks for $1.42 in pennies?". I'm sure she will understand your coin compulsion then. Lance.
I pull this about 1956-60 when I get$ 20.00 in change from my grandmothers Bank. to this day I not sure if there a D or an S under that 1st mint mark.but It all ways get a lot to think about. I just keep on a blank page in my Dansco. :kewl:
