All are real. All are normal business strikes (not PROOFS). All are worth 1c. The proof version of the "No S" cent is the one with real value.
I have one that I found on the ground today that has it not been in circulation it would be that shiny.
Unlikely to find such a rare coin on the ground. Upload some photos. (I think there's only 400 of them? Not sure.)
Over production and decreasing values were two reasons for the demise of stamp collecting. Not because of criticism to a single new collector. As for the most recent 1990 no S question, it's almost 100% going to be a 1990 Philadelphia cent.
Self-adhesive stamps made sure that collectors could no longer soak cancelled stamps from envelopes & single mint state self-adhesives are problematic to collect
I'll concur. I got dumped on the first time here as my sign on was nyandw. It was corrected for the rail line NY0&W. NYandW is a modeled rail line and the "&" doesn't post well in html. Sidebar: It was childish and stupid in my opinion. The attack poster apologized off-line so it is done, but why? It is obvious the person is very green and needs guidance and not to be turned away by the knowledgeable elite that exist here. Sad...
I often wondered about this. I gave up on stamp collecting many decades ago, but made it a point to hold on to a few commemoratives that meant something to me because of what the stamp commemorated. Just the other day I received a coin purchase that was mailed to me that had Five Bicentennial Commemorative Stamps on it, so I put this into my small book of stamps.
Yes, the OP needs to be encouraged, not belittled, but there IS room for a little criticism of the way new collectors "burst onto the scene" generally, by no means ONLY this OP. I call it (imprecisely) the "expectation to hit it big". New collectors seem to get all lathered up believing they have instantly found rarities. There is no introspection about probabilities at work in their minds. What their questions SHOULD be are things like, "I know this can't be what I would wish it is, so what am I missing?" Just saying. The enthusiasm reveals a lack of thought and reflection. I believe EVERY new collector needs to make it a MISSION to fully understand what a proof coin is, for starters. Go look at some proofs somewhere. Educate yourself, fast. I had an unfair advantage - the FIRST 5 coins I had in my collection were proofs - a 1963 set carefully housed in a Capital Plastics holder. I still have it 55 years later, and aside from some gorgeous SUBTLE toning, it looks as good as ever.
Too late, the OP posted here four years ago. And on the first page only one person belittled him, and he apologized a few posts later agreeing his comment had been inappropriate, still on the first page.
So how do you feel about the rest of my post? Am I COMPLETELY off base here? I AM on record as advocating much more study before diving in headlong, but that's not the late 20-teens zeitgeist, is it?
By the way, @CoinCorgi, I have a kitten in the house who IS "shinny". He likes to hurl himself onto my shins and dig in the claws. Luckily (for us both) , I have neuro deficits and he weighs slightly more than a feather.
I guess I just enjoy the enthusiasm. Us who have seen it all, so to speak, forget how exciting this world can be to new collectors.