Only 4 S mintmarks out of thousands

I must say now a day's that Denver coins are scares around here....I have yet to get a 17 P in change! However did score some from the bank. I believe that coin star machines feed enough coinage back into the system to suit the needs, that the Fed doesn't need to release new mintage's into the flow.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Paddy is likely correct in his ascertaining this is an 001 RPM. It can be quite confusing as all the dates from 68-74 also often had die chips in the upper or lower serif, sometimes both, and these can often be confused with RPM's. It takes awhile to get the hang of it but eventually it comes naturally.

 

The new Shield cents from Denver are also very sparse here in Massachusetts. In addition to very few of the 2009's.

 

I totally believe that what comes in from coin stars fills the needs so newly minted coins are not in demand.
Daily I'm in and out of food stores. Each has a machine, banks and credit unions also and it's free as long as you have an account .
All day long I see people with coins at the coin star.....in fact today got lucky and found an 1957 dime,and two clad ones. Kicked out as rejects, last week a 1940-S wheat cent.
Think about this everyone who pays cash has change.....before the machines one had to roll up the coins put your name and account number on the roll. That's way to much work to do even when you got a bucket full of coins....now ya dump it in a machine it sorts,counts, and gives you paper money back......before it was a job now easy found folding money.

 

After posting this I'm getting S mintmarks daily..I spotted this in the 'take a penny/leave a penny' dish at AM/PM. I asked the girl if I can have it if I replaced it with a few of my own. Lol

 

So Paddy, what's my next step? Sending it in to Variety Vista? Or should I take it to Neil Sackamary G.G.(GIA), the local 'coin guy' here in Vegas? He touts his shop as the best since they have an X-ray spectrometer..which is NOT what I need, so I'm wondering if he could tell me anything about an error coin.

 

So Tommy or Paddy, I got this from Variety Vista.. just to be clear, this is one of one coin that is known to have the rpm, right? I believe my coin also has Die cracks on a few columns on reverse but are these traits that a '72S rpm would need to have? Or are the die cracks just documented for each coin & just a coincidence that my coin has them?

 

Oops forgot to add the photo of the info from Variety Vista.. lol

 

RPM's are/were hand punched into a working die by a Mint employee, a necessary function. Die cracks are the result of an over worked die that has made to many coins and is a completely separate issue not associated with RPM's.

 

Die cracks can happen over time as a die is being used. EDS through LDS
Early die state - Late Die State
If you go down the page at Varietyvista.com you will see the different states .
At late die state towards the end of the dies life cracks will become larger or more noticeable . As in the Early die state the cracks may not be but as thick as a human hair.
As for the variety rpms are not worth having attribution done in most cases. Unless a rare one.

 

This info is following the stage of the die and is using markers that may help better identify the RPM. Edit-You beat me to it Paddy.

 

Now if you had an RPM like a 1942 D over Horizontal D Jefferson nickel yes worth the time and money. To send in and grade and attributes done.

 

Another fact about die life is this depending on what materials they were striking coins in a die might mint 50-70 thousand coins. Soft metals silver gold of course the life would go the distance , now the first true nickels "shields" were 75 % copper and 25% nickel. A very hard metal.
The life of a die would only last up to 10,000 strikes! After this many the die would explode....major malfunction . So on some coins depending on die state and the metals used the life of a die got closer to end on each strike.

 

Also now to get you completely confused die cracks can be markers or used as markers for RPM'S and even DDO'S and DDR'S . However don't always need be present . There maybe other markers such as die chips....a chip in a die that when mints a coin shows a positive device such as a dot , scratch , or mark that is like a way point on a map. They help confirm that yes your specimen is in fact the variety in question .

 

One other note and Tommy or I as well others here can give you references. If you are interested in variety collecting.
When I started to collect like most I started with Whitman albums filling holes for each year and mint mark.
As time has gone on I prefer to collect variety coins. Just like some like collecting errors. One should decide what direction you wish to take in your hobby.
Just like in college deciding your major....of course you can change your mind....but there's so many different roads one can take in this hobby . My advice is read research and ask questions when in doubt .
Define your goals as to what excites you ,a certain series, errors, variety coins, paper money, world coins, bullion , ancients . Once hooked your knowledge and passion will grow. If you're the type who loves to learn, this is a hobby for you .

 

Yes I love to learn but honestly, I'm not in it for the collecting. I'm in it for the rare find that translates into profit. My heart is in collecting geodes & fossils. That said, if anyone wants any of the Error coins I've posted let me know...I won't put them back into circulation so they sit in a drawer. If you can use them in your collection, I'd love to send them your way.

 

Well I imagine being in Vegas you're in the right place for the hobby of mineral and rock collecting. Plenty of desert to comb.

 

Closer and more in focus pics, would be helpful in determining the MM, its hard to tell what wear or damage it might have, I am still siding with Paddy though.

 

To be clear, we're still talking about the '72 S cent right?