1986 D Lincoln penny DD obverse

Just found this yesterday.

 

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Does anyone know how I can clean this penny up so it's easier to see? Should I just leave it

 

Spend it.

 

It's a Crappy Zincoln! Why bother!

Chris

 

But it's probably one of a kind and I bet there is a collector out there that would be interested. Obviously not you!

 

Granted, there may be a dummy out there who knows less than you and will be willing to buy it. It's people that sell crap like this that give our hobby a bad name.

Chris

 

It appears from what I can see to be machine doubling due to reducing the thickness of the lettering rather than increasing. IMO, Jim

 

Mr. Stevens. You came to a forum that’s filled with collectors. They are telling you that you have a common coin that has suffered some environmental damage and that it’s only worth face value. BTW: Please don’t clean your coins. Cleaned coins are worth significantly less to a collector, both in value and desirability.

 

First you never clean a coin. It will destroy the surface and lower its value. Second, this coin is not DD. It looks more like MD and that's very common.

 

Thanks for not doging the new guys you seem to always answer without the normal bashing thanks

 

Pet your dog and forget looking through rolls of Lincoln cents. It's a waste of time.

 

I appreciate all the advice but I am sure you are mistaken. I am looking through a 30x and 60x magnifying glass and it is very clear. I just can't get the right picture. I will try and get a better one because after all, you all are the experts and I just started doing this. I do appreciate all the advice from all of you thank you very much.

 

To each their own

 

the "doubling" you see on the 8 is from split plating.
During minting the 8 micron thin layer of copper is stretched and rips. Thus giving the illusion of doubling.

Under the 8 micron thin copper plating is a solid core of zinc.

The white stuff you are seeing all over your coin is that zinc leeching out. The other bubble type things you are seeing is zinc rot. The zinc is rotting underneath and taking the copper with it. And maybe grease filled die on Rev in the (State)"S of A"(merica) area.


Zincolns are notorious for split plating, all over the place on both sides. Also seen on the right of the Memorial.

Zincolns are also known for single squeeze hub doubling. Which is normally fattening of the letters. I don't really see that here. Plus the condition of your cent would reduce it's value to face anyways.

 

That is a great explanation and I even understood. Thanks guess throw this one back in the piggy bank

 

don't throw it in the piggy bank.
Zinc Rot has a tendency to spread it seems. Throw it in a "junk" container as you'll see more and more zinc rot cents as time goes on.

I have containers of pennies from the decades and zinc white junk all over regular copper pennies where the zincolns have corroded in the same container.

live and learn ...

 

You should take a look at WWW.doubleddie.com. There is a tab marked Worthless Doubling. It explains Die Deterioration Doubling as well as machine doubling (MD). If you are interested in Doubled Die errors, I strongly recommend learning as much about the minting and die making process as possible. The more you know, the less time you’ll spend chasing things like DDD and MD. Many members on CT are very knowledgeable on this topic and be helpful.

Also, while it’s interesting to look at coins under high magnification (I would occasionally sneak one into the SEM when I was in grad school), there is very little interest in errors that are not visible at 5-10X. At high mags, finding things becomes more of an academic exercise and very few in the hobby are interested, so these Micro doubled dies rarely bring much of a premium.

 

Good information, thanks. Yeah that other man was correct. I think it was just rotting. He sure knows his coins.

 

Oh right on I'm glad you told me that. Thanks

 

@Alex Stevens ...seriously, we want you to be a better collector/numismatist. As @Oldhoopster said, go to Wexler’s website www.doubleddie.com... read everything on that site. Also helpful:

error-ref.com (info on true errors) and
lincolncentresource.com. (mint mark styles and large/small date info for cents).

Finally, get a Yeoman Red Book. It is chock full of all things U.S. coins...mintages, grading, etc.

We look forward to seeing more posts...Welcome to Coin Talk...Spark