Now, admittedly, I'm new to this. But the learning curve appears to be much harsher than I originally realized. I've attached a photo of the PCGS 'price guide' for a 1964 Lincoln Head penny. ALL 3 are for the same year, ALL THREE! I believe I understand that BN means brown (like literal color of the coin), RB means Red/Brown (like one color on each side?) and RD means red. Is that correct? Then on top of the assumed color variations, there are 2 additional variations for each color variation, what do those mean? How would I determine the differences? Also, attached is a 1964 proof penny. I don't have a picture on hand of the back, so I understand it might be impossible to say but what 'variant' or price guide price would you guesstimate this penny to be based off of this picture. And the BIG question, why did you make that guesstimation? -Mike
Yes. If you mean "DDR FS-801", etc. those refer to varieties/errors known as "Doubled-Die Reverse". The "FS" comes from the "Cherrypickers Guide to Rare Die Varieties" by Bill Fivaz and J.T. Stanton. "FS-xxx" is their code for that particular error ("F" is for Fivaz, "S" for Stanton).
First the coin is a Cent not a penny. There is an obverse and a reverse to a coin. The RB designation is any variation of original red mint luster, and brown mixed in. Yes Brown is referred to as the brown color but is also attributed to toned coins without the original red color.
Okay, cent - sorry about that. Ah ha that makes sense about the coloring now. Thank you for the explanation. Is there a general rule of thumb that says red or browns (or the red/browns somewhere in between) is more desirable? And thank you Doug...looks like I'm adding yet another book to my need to read collection!
common sense would dictate that higher grade and original color would be most desirable, but not everyone can afford that or want to collect those, all depends on what you want to collect and can afford, its different for every collector..
Red is over 95% original red color, RD is 95% red to around 5% red, Brown is >5% red. I think that is right.
I know of no price guide that backs up their valuations by buying coins at that level. Other than variety collectors there are few people willing to pay a premium price for 1964 cents. For various reasons including GRESHAM'S LAW the mintage of US coins exploded about 1964. Where the mintages before that were in the thousands and millions mintages after that were in the billions. Your best source for condition rarities is dealers and other collectors. Your best source for varieties is in change. Varieties are also frequently found in the stocks of dealers and you will learn about them in the Cherry Pickers Guides. Few dealers will let you use that guide while searching their coins. good luck
Excellent information. I actually ordered the book earlier today after being advised to read it. I'll have it next Wednesday
Nothing more than it says Cent right on it. I believe that Condor said it somewhere just recently. Terminology keeps us all on the same page. If I was rude I am sorry.
Total loss, no but I do often require further clarification to be sure they aren't talking about a coin from one of the other dozen or so countries that do have a coin denominated as a penny. Of course you can have the same problem with cent. Still as mentioned above I do feel it is important to use correct terminology to prevent confusion and provide clear correct information. If we object to sloppy internet shorthand abbreviations, we should also strive for proper terms on other things.
