Coin history: I found this cent while looking through rolls around 45 years ago. Therefore I do not think it has been cleaned or the surfaces altered intentionally. There may be some PVC damage due to the flips I have used along the way. My apologies for the quality of the photos; the actual coin is slightly darker than it appears in the photo due to the lighting I used. This Lincoln has just been sitting around in my collection box for years and I figured I maybe should get some opinions on it. I'm sure I see a faint "D" mintmark, but I'm not sure how faint the "D" has to be before it adds some value.
Not digging the color, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it's problem-free. It looks like it would grade VG, and the surfaces aren't really attractive, even if problem-free. Retail for a legit weak D in VG is about $100. It would make a good Dansco 22 "No D" coin next to a 22-D with a strong mint mark, and if you slabbed it and sold it, that's probably where it would end up. If you look at the PCGS Coinfacts images for a 22 Weak D, you will see some that resemble your coin with regard to the weakness of the D. Some, however, are much weaker due to heavy clashing and die wear. I don't know the details of the Lincoln cent market well, but I'd imagine that someone in the market for one would favor the coins with the weakest mint marks. I guess bottom line is that I probably wouldn't send it through unless I were selling it and it went with a larger economy order, and that assumes that the coin is problem-free when examined in hand before submitting. I would put this in my Dansco.
