I got my fist proof set on fathers day, a 1979 set. I wanted to scan it and zoom in to see if my mint mark was type 1 or 2. Scanning the set comes out all blurry. Can it just not be done? I noticed the case folds out so it can be on display. However it seems to open just enough where the coins stand almot straight up, so any bump would make it fall over. Are they all that way from that era? One more thing I thought was especially neat! I was holding my 2000 proof Kennedy half I found in circulation next to the 1979 proof in my set and I started noticing all these little differences. The 2000 had so much more detail in his hair, ear, and neck lines. Is there a web site that documents how coins have had subtle changes over the years? I tried searching the forums here and couldn't find a link.
idk, it may be that your scanner is focussing on the plastic which would make the coins blurry, but beyond that (pointing out the obvious) I'm afraid i can't help you much, sorry. That is the standard format for the 79-81 proof sets (it may extend a little farther each direction, but I don't remember off the top of my head. The dies are continually being reworked in a constant effort to make them last longer and be more visually appealing and productive. Your best bet is to study the coins from each year and you will begin to notice many tiny differences. I've heard one person explain that he can tell what year and Mint a wheat cent is by looking only at the reverse! This guy has looked hat thousands of coins and has become adept at noticing the subtle year to year differences. Also a while back someone posted a reverse of a modern quarter for us to guess the grade of and one of our members (cladking) was able to determine the exact year based upon the reverse. This is from his having searched though thousands of quarters. I'd venture to guess that there is no official book on the subject because it is just so minor a part of numismatics, who would buy it? Especially when you consider how gigantic such a work would be! As for the differences you are noticing, the circulating US coins (cent, nickel, dime, quarter, & half) were all redesigned in 1991 to "strengthen" the design. This involved adding a ton of detail to the busts, mostly in the form of squiggly hair lines, in fact in my type set the post 1990 coins are described as the "spaghetti hair" variety of those coins. I think they look silly, but the mint thought it was a good idea, so it stuck.
You just didn't search using the right key words. Click on - THIS LINK and scroll down to where it says Hub Design Changes, then click on that link. Changes up through the mid 1990's are listed if memory serves
That's a ton of info. It's perfect, thank you! The guy who wrote this just needs pictures to go with it.
