I got this guy in the mail today: Is it common to have the mint mark so close to the year? Any value added? thanks! JAC
Most would say that there is no premium as the mint mark was placed on the cent die for this year by hand, and could vary quite a bit. If it overlaps a digit of the date or part of Lincoln's coat, then it might have a nice premium, but not so on this one IMO. Jim
I've seen similar close mint-marks on ebay sell for a few bucks because it is somewhat unusual I suppose.. It's not an error though because it's well within the strike zone.
Some time ago I found some Lincoln Cents with mint marks all over the place. I contacted the expert, www.coppercoins.com and was told that thoes mint marks appear in many different locations but usually directly below the dates. Also, many are tilted in a large variety of angles. None, unless excessively off are of any addtional value. Yes they were put there by hand and that always made me wonder what those Mint workers had for lunch.
I've checked a few of my 1970S cents and the S is a lot lower. It is interesting to see that the S mark is varying on some of the cents. I'm learning more about cents on this website everyday.
If you think about it that would not be an easy thing to do. If you think about it that would not be an easy thing to do. First the die is of course negative. Second the technian has to actually rock the punch as he hits it because the face of the die is rounded not flat and often required more than one blow to get a complete image. Plus all this in the space of a millimeter or so - I would think given this the margin for error would be very great even with experience.
