My question is in regards to older lincoln cents. I am wondering if the 30's through the 50's strikes are less detailed than some of the modern stuff. For example...the detail in lincoln's beard seems to be less in the above years than now. Any help would be appreciated. Anyone know of a good resource for close up picks of lincolns...whole coin photos. Thanks
Actually the relief was much stronger on the older coins than it is today. It would be my guess that the reason for the apparent lack of detail found on some coins is due to die wear.
Lots of factors go in to determining a coin's detail. As Doug mentioned, die wear is an important consideration. Design changes are another. Check this link to see some recorded Lincoln cent design changes. One of the better places to see close-up pictures of coins is Heritage Auction Galleries.
All US coin denonimations were redesigned from 1990-1992 and the result was what I call the "spaghetti-hair" varieties. Basically, the mint took the classic designs and added hair and beard detail, so the modern (1992-date) versions of those coins appear to have better detail than the 1930-1960 versions. Also dies are retired more quickly now than back then so worn die coins are less likely now.
I have noticed on older Lincolns that the strikes are better and have a higher relief. The modern Lincolns seem to be a lot lower relief.
Lincoln Here is an example of what I mean (See Pics)...What do you think these would grade at... Look at the jaw line.
If you check the link that Jody provided you will see this as one of the design changes mentioned for the Lincoln cent - " 1990- Revised obverse, "sharp" whiskers " So apparently you are not alone in your observation. As for the grade of your coins - '48 I'd say AU58 and it looks like it may have had tape on it at one time. '49-S MS63 but with the same comment about the tape.
hmm, sharp whiskers is what I though my Grandpa had when I was a little kid! "Grandpa, why are you so prickly?" [with my Mom in the background laughing.]
As usual with Licoln Cents you may want to check out the coppercoins.com web site. Also, the author of that web site has two books out on just Lincoln Cents with very detailed photos of each year and also detailed photos of errors, fakes, etc.
Grade Thanks for the info...and I love the site coppercoins.com. By the way, these are not my coins...I'm still in the infancy mode of taking pictures. These were ones I captured off a popular auction site...as for the grade, the seller was listing them as raw MS65 and MS 67...kinda funny - to put a spin on an old saying....one man's treasure is another mans garbage!
The ones in your pics might just be weaker than average strikes.All of the BU's in my collection seem about the same,with a bit more detail in the beard and jaw areas than those.Here is my 1948d.The two you posted show almost no definition in the jaw muscles,cheekbone and the deep frown line is totally missing.
