Error or Wear?

I was looking thru my pocket change from the past few days and came across some surprises, among them two Roosevelt dimes from 1967 and a penny from 1967. Odd they were all in change from the same transaction. But in addition, and I will try to post a picture soon, I also got a more recent Lincoln cent that really looks like it only says 199 for the year. Through a lighted jeweler's loupe, I can just barely make out the faint hint of a 7 to make it 1997. The 199 digits are all in very good relief, so why is the 7 virtually non-existant?

 

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greased die

 

Is that considered an error coin then?

 

My guess is a struck through grease error.

It's unfortunately a common error and rarely carries much of a premium.

 

Ok, so technically an error coin but too common to add much value.

 

That's only an issue if you are trying to make money off your finds. If not I'd say it's a keeper. I recently found a 1988 penny that's missing the designer's initials and a 1984 where the bottom half of "...States of America) is missing/faded from grease.

 

Yes! This happens when grease and debris build up in the incuse devices. As more and more coins are struck, it becomes compacted until such time that the device is completely filled, and the incuse element of the design disappears.

Although a grease-filled die is very common and can be found on almost every denomination of our coinage, what you really want to be on the lookout for is the "dropped element". The grease and debris that is compacted in an incuse device can become almost as hard as steel. Sometimes, it will fall away and land on the incoming planchet before it is struck. When this happens, the design element is then pressed into the coin. It may remain embedded in the coin, or it may just fall away once the coin is ejected from the coining chamber. A "dropped element" is rarer than a grease-filled die, and a "retained dropped element" is even rarer.

Chris

 

I finally got a picture of the coin and magnified the date section. Turns out my parents (near or in their 70's) have better vision than me, because they thought the light/missing number was a 3, not a 7 like I thought I saw a hint of. As you can see, it is clearly a 3, and more present than my naked eye or my jeweler's loupe even saw. So given this close-up, do we still think it was a grease-filled die or is this simply some abnormal wear on the 3?

 

@bkwormonthenet

It was still the result of a grease-filled die...........a partially grease-filled die.

Chris

 

Thanks!