Would these be serifs?

This is the reverse to a 1982-P cent.

 

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http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serif

 

Why is the ONE and CENT gold color surrounded by black? Or the N's anyway.

 

Perhaps I'm simply unable to grasp what you're saying, Tim, but I'm not seeing what you describe. The coloring (staining, toning, etc) would have nothing to do with (non-existent) serifs though.

 

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Shadows or dirt. Or more likely (although I don't see it on your coin), on clad cents, the copper can be pulled away from the letters leaving the tin susceptible to turning dark (oxidizing).

 

That stupid dictionary did not do as good a job as you provided.

 

Lighting, or lack thereof.

Chris

 

These would be seriffs - sorry, I got a lisp:

 

I know a little about lighting, that is how the coin looks. Are the serifs separated ?

 

Do you see raised lines?

 

Follow this link to 1984-d ddr. This shows what split serifs look like on a 1980's Lincoln reverse
http://www.coppercoins.com/lincoln/diestate.php?date=1984&die_id=1984d1dr001&die_state=mds