recently i have been roll hunting for wheaties, 95% coppers and whatever else i come across. ive noticed that there are alot of pre 82's with really "pronounced" rims so to say. of course you dont always see it, but i feel that their rims are much more visible than newer coins. i also run into alot of pre 82's that seem to be in fairly good condition with brown toning. basically i am curious as to if they are doing something different now as to back then, or if maybe alot of "nicer" pre 82's are surfacing all around due to people cashing in their hoardes because of the economy.
The biggest thing I noticed with the copper memorials, is the 1968 and earlier have a much higher relief than 1969 and newer. I don't know if this is what you might be noticing, but it caught my attention. I think the more pronounced rims may have something to do with the speed they began pumping these out in later years.
Not quite sure what relief is. I'm fairly new to learning about coins compaired to just saving random stuff.
States as simple as I can describe it, relief is the depth that the details are stamped into the coin. As demand for cents increased over the years, the relief was reduced as the minting process was sped up. Just look at the details of a pre-1969 cent versus a newer one. The obverse is where it is most notable.
I noticed this too because I want to check for 1970s small dates if I choose not to save coppers. I see people buying coppers as bullion on Ebay which I personally don't understand since there are plenty in circulation and they are currently illegal to melt for the copper and copper is an industrial metal that is used to make things. I know gold and silver are also made into things but these metals have value in their own right.
True but don't forget the cents made through 1973, particularly the S and D mints. Those have pronounced rims and lots of high relief.
I can go through the 40 lbs of pre 82's and find a lot of nice coins so to say. Nothing worth writing home about, but noticable difference in "quality" from the post 82's. Just though it was weird and wanted to see if anyone else noticed.
You are right, now that I think about it. Is there any reason the branch mints had this over the Philly mint?
