Already sitting in my collection , I had a roll of mint condition 1951 D Lincoln Cents. So I got my Cherrypickers guide out and started searching. Out of 50 coins, it looks like 17 have some sort of RPM going on. I plan on using this thread to ask questions, etc...because I am having difficulty attributing them all. First one, may be a 1951-D 1c RPM-033, D/D South because of the die break on the Reverse E of ONE. But the break looks smaller than the pics on Variety Vista showing a stage B. So could mine be a stage A of this variety? Or does a reverse match not necessarily mean the obverse is of the dame die pair? The MM does look re-punched but no other markers except for the E die break exist. I have 5 other coins in the same variety/condition.
When looking at RPMs such as that, we need much better closeups of the mint mark. I don't see anything in the photo. That being said, this is definitely not RPM-033 because the mint mark location is not the same.
The '51 has some real nice ones. Quite honestly, I'd describe that as a real nice coin, but not as a real nice RPM. That's a little chip off the E, looks like.
Glare is not your friend on taking images on BU/Proof coins. We need images that show this close and no glare.
Yeah, Richard, that'll work. His photography on his '51 doesn't zoom-up very clearly, either, that's another problem with it.
Yeah, about as good as I can do with my little usb micro...looking at getting my slr set up for macro shots now. Need an adapter ring to reverse mount my 18-55 to my 70-300.
Ok, so I think I got the answer to one of my questions.... The die with the reverse marker of the die break on the E of ONE may have been married with one or more obverse dies over its lifetime. Did this tend to happen daily or just as dies were rotated in/out for maintenance, etc...?
Ok, another one. Dont think I need more magnification on this one - probably wrong. But here it is anyway: A 1951 D 1MM-036 D/D Tilted .
With 1MM-036 that you posted the link to, the slight split on the lower serif is the RPM. It has nothing to do with the blob in the center of the "D". That is simply a die chip. You're coin has a similar die chip(which was relatively common), but I don't see the RPM part of it from your photos, which would be the split lower serif. Also, the MM on your coin appears to be slightly further west than the MM on the 036.
Well, dang...I am learning. No, don't see the lower split in hand either. Ok, next up may be one of the upper serif split varieties.
Keep looking. You'll get there. It a learning process for what to look for and how to look for it. Are you using a loupe?
The best way to pick up those split serif RPMs is to turn the coin so that a good direct light source is coming in from the back of the "D".
