I actually got this in early November, but since my acquisitions have slowed to a trickle, it's still one of the newest. The obverse has mirrored fields that are prooflike, but the reverse has some corrosion or environmental damage, so this was under $40. Edit: The more I look at this, the more intrigued I am by the complete lack of detail on the reverse at the top left quadrant. The leaves are mere outlines of the shapes. I wonder if this was struck through grease that prevented these features from striking up properly. If so, I further wonder if that grease also affected the finish and left it more porous than the rest of the coin, which is very sharply struck. If so, then this would not be environmental damage but a side effect of the strike.
I recently got an email from a large retailer who sells a lot of common and modern coins, but rarely true high-end stuff. He was having a sale on small cents. I have gotten some stunning coins from him for dirt cheap in the past, so I looked through my Lincoln set to see if I could upgrade any. I ended up ordering 5 wheat cents for $29.91 including shipping. I will post the five coins, in five posts, in no particular order. First I will post the coin I had, then what I received. We'll all see how I did. I wanted to upgrade this 1949-D Lincoln because of the spots on the head. The reverse has a handful of dings all around ONE CENT. I received this one for my $5.56. The seller listed it as "Choice BU". Here it is in full resolution. If I am right to call this an MS66 RD, NGC gives a book value of $110. I actually think MS66 is fairly conservative. In this instance I think I got a great deal. I am swapping out the old one and putting the new one in its place.
Post 2 of 5 - 1948 Lincoln This is the coin I wanted to upgrade. For $8.22, this is the coin I received. It was offered as "Choice BU". Full resolution images. This is an obvious upgrade to the one I had, and will replace it in my set. Price guide for these is $25 for MS65 RD, 120 for MS66, and 2100 for MS67. I think $8 was a great price for this one.
Coin 3 of 5 - 1957 D Lincoln This is the coin I wanted to upgrade. It is actually a terrific coin, but I was hoping for something with fewer die scratches. This was listed as “Gem BU” and cost $5.60. Full resolution photos. The NGC price guide for 1957 D 1C MS gives $325 for MS67 red. I think this is an MS67 with a small strike-through in the obverse field in front of Lincoln’s chin, ducks under the 1 in the date, and picks up again on the bust. There is also a clash on the reverse that is most visible between the C and E. In the animation you can see that it also goes from the right side of the N in CENT up to the E in ONE. This one also looks better than the one I had and will replace it in my album.
Not eBay. These three cents are from Dave’s Collectible Coins. If the listing says Choice or Gem, in my experience they are conservatively graded. I hate to give up my secrets, but it seems buying raw coins is a completely different market from buying graded ones. In the cases above the price difference seems to be a factor of 20 or more.
Coin 4 of 5 - 1944-S Lincoln This is the coin I wanted to upgrade. It was dull with some spotting. The color is actually a nice red and there is great cartwheel luster. This was purchased for $4.90 and was "Choice BU". Full resolution photos. The color and luster are excellent. The reverse die seems to be a bit worn, giving the reverse a softer look. The surfaces are clean with minimal marks. There is some strike weakness at the 1 o'clock position on the front rim and 11 o'clock on the reverse. I think this may be about MS66, which NGC's price guide for 1944 S 1C MS puts at $35. This seems like a good deal since there was no expense for getting it slabbed. This coin will replace the one in my album.
Coin 5 of 5 - 1944-D Lincoln I was hoping to upgrade this cent because of the spots - above the head and on the reverse. The luster is good and there is the beginning of some toning in a few places on the obverse. This replacement was only listed as “BU”, not Choice or Gem like the previous four posts. It turns out to have more spots and a more subdued color. It doesn’t seem any better than the original one. But I only spent $2.48, so I can’t complain. I actually forgot that I had already bought another 1944-D that I hoped would be an upgrade. It was waiting to be photographed and wasn’t in my spreadsheet or pictures yet. This one is an MS66 RD that I got from GreatCollections. It’s in a PCGS slab. What with the spot between the E and D of UNITED, minor spotting throughout the lower half of the reverse, and a mark to the left of Lincoln’s head, it seems to be a tossup between this and my ungraded original. It’s not good enough to warrant cracking the slab and putting in my album. I’ll stay with the one I have. I certainly don’t feel bad about the two dollar purchase, but I wish I had my $44.50 back from the second coin.
Keep an eye out for the '44 D/D variety, you never know when one might pop up, unattributed slabbed or raw
What do I have here @okbustchaser is this a small stars variety? It seems to have the left serif of the 1 missing like the small stars variety. But with the wear, just not sure.