Matte Proof Lincoln question

Stormy, the grinding on the edges, in the close up, was probably an attempt to flatten them out, but they were really unconcerned about finishing off the grinding marks. Interesting piece.

Welcome to CT,:smile I forgot to off that earlier! Hope you enjoy your stay.

Jim

 

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Sorry stormy! Lincolns aren't my thing, but I thought you coulda' had one. DARN!
Well the excitement was fun for a little while?

 

how about this one? any opinion? is it proof?

 

If the photos are accurate, I would suspect not, but the rim of the coin could easily sway me if it is perpendicular. Most 1910 MLP the edge is flat and very even around the perimeter of both obverse and reverse, and the edges have very vertical edges inside and outside ( rim). The inside edge of this one appears to be somewhat curved going into the fields and the perimeter slightly uneven.

That said, I would not confirm/deny until one sees the edge to see if a right angle between the edge and rims, IMO. Even then, early strikes of MS often were very confusing without markers to help. CU has some threads on various LMP markers and a new book has come out on Lincoln Matte proofs also. Sorry, I can't say for sure, I have seen some in PCGS holders that don't really look like a matte proof because part of the rim is obscured.

Jim

 

The obverse and reverse of MPLs can be very deceptive, because you sometimes see very well struck business struck coins that look very much like proofs, but if you ever see a Lincoln with an edge like this...

...then that's almost a dead giveaway that it is a MPL. Notice the polished, very square edge? That's what a MPL looks like raw in-hand, IMO. Business struck coins look very different in this spot.

 

I agree it's very hard to tell whether a coin is a matte proof or not without looking at the rim. I looked at it for a long time with coin on hand and it look like a common cent. The coin I posted is a PCGS red brown PR65 though, can't see the rim through the holder. I think I like other types of proof better than MPL

 

Nice coin! Indeed! I really like the appearance of a nice matte proof better than the mirror or satin ones, but of course different people like different finishes. I guess that is why there are several books on recognizing matte proof lincolns and I don't know of one that is to recognize mirror or satin proofs

I forget where I may have read it, but I seem to recall someone writing that so few matte proofs were struck each year, that after doing so, the dies went on to strike some business strikes.

 

I've often dreamed of that being true, but I don't think it is. I've read both sides, I don't think there's any positive proof. If this 1909 was only.....sigh...