I recently acquired a Lincoln cent from an older gentleman that was a coin dealer in the 60s and 70s. Apparently he sent it off to J. G. Johnson(I would also like to know who he is) about 30 or 40 years ago and the envelope included with the coin says as follows: "Now - this is much better. Shows more doubling in the date like Jewett illustrates in his book, and also the 9 in the date is beginning to fill - just as the one Jewett illustrates. He values it from $1.50 to $75.00 - but do not get too excited as the $75.00 sounds a bit high, unless you can find someone who is willing to pay that much. J. G. Johnson"(he signed his name over typed) Sorry but I cant provide pics, my camera is broke and I have been meaning to get it fixed!:whistle: The coin itself is about MS-63 maybe 64 Red. On the 2x2 is written "Double Date, 1/4 filled '9'?" Has anyone ever heard of such a variety or error? I tried google and Lincoln Cent Resource but have found nothing. The "older gentleman" says he doesn't even remember anything about it. The only other doubling that I have noticed are around Lincoln's mouth and chin.
I have never heard of it. You should get pics as soon as your camera is fixed, alot of people here are very knowledgeable about Lincoln's, maybe they can tell you more about it.
The Jewett reference is Mistrikes and Oddities in the LincOLn Cent and Other Coin and Currencies by E G Jewett. The fourth edition was published in 1966. I would not put a lot of faith in a listing there. There were several books on mint errors and varieties published in the late fifties and early sixties that listed as varieties many thing which we now recognize as simple post mint damage. Especially machine doubling. A LOT of coins with machine doubling were listed in these books as varieties. I have no idea who J G Johnson is. The only reference I can find for that name in relation to coins is as a manufacturer/marketer of magicians coins. On the other hand there was a well known dealer by the name of B G Johnson. But it couldn't be him because he died in 1947.
Condor: Agreed, Frank Spadone listed non-varieties, and made me feel really, really rich! Today, they are just junk wheaties.
I know its been a while but, I just found my cent in an old post: http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=10579
It has been nearly a year, but I ran across this cent in a buch of stuff I had and decided to finally show every one what I had. It took forever to get a good scan of the date(and still couldn't get a good one) but its the best so far. Maybe someone new might know who J.G. Johnson is?
James G. Johnson was apparently a columnist for Coin World's "Collectors Clearinghouse" and retired about 1975. He was from Sidney, Ohio and never had much money to spend on coins. As a result, many of his coins were in low grade, but he said that he wanted coins that people had actually used. It's a great bit of history you have there and I'd keep it. That's about all that I have read about him.
Wow, I can't believe someone actually has heard of him. Thanks for closing this chapter.:hug: But, I was definetly planning on keeping this just for the history of it. Thanks!
Yes, but you try googling J.G.Johnson and try to find out what rockdude just said. You will probably be looking for the rest of your life... Seeing your demeaner, I can tell you must be new...
