Anyone care to tell me anything about my find? Looked very nice to me, so i figured id try to find some info.
It appears to be a nice circulated coin I don't see anything special about it but if you like it keep it that's what this hobby is all about. IMO Welcome To Cointalk Dave
Don't see anything special it does appear to have a slight MAD ( misaligned die) worth .1 cent. JMO Dave
After 1955 they stopped making S cents. Starting in 1968 they started making business strike s cents through 68-74. These are just normal pennies. Since 1975 all the S cents are proofs. They do make proof S cents as well from 68-74, but those are spectacular and the difference is easy to tell.
Can anyone recommend good books used to spot desireable coins to watch for by series and date? Errors too?
Cherry pickers guide vol 1 & 2, strike it rich with pocket change, the redbook 2019 issue is out. Read about the minting process and learn it and watch videos about the minting process after you read about it. get an eye loop x10 magnification.
I would hazard a guess that finding an S in circulation is rare out east. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I find them more than occasionally.
No. I've only been here since 2002. Since I've been here, I've accumulated 48 S cents - 1968-1974. You do the math.
Yes, easy for San Francisco mm here on West Coast, but all circulated usually AU55 or worse. But I did find almost 3 months ago an impaired proof-like 1955-S with a die chip in the mm lower loop, while CRH. It had been cleaned and polished, was AU58...Spark
Interesting, living in CA and trying to complete a set of state quarters from change, it is hard to find the P mint coins.
I grew up in CT (That's Connecticut, not Coin Talk) where s mint marks were rare as can be. In fact, the first actual coin purchase I made by myself in 1978 at age 9 was a shiny uncirculated '68-s. It cost 35 cents. The local Woolworth (called Wolco at that point) had an ancient mechanized display case in the jewelry area (!), with trays, full of coins, that were attached to what looked like a bicycle chain on two gears that rotated at the push of a button. I pedaled myself there after school, bought the '68-s, and marveled at the alien mint mark for almost as long as I wondered at the cent's bizarre bulginess. The next day I plunked down 25 cents for the '69-s and endlessly knit my brows as to why this second coin was so flat compared to the '68. Hubs and the minting process were unknown to me then. In 1991 I moved to San Francisco and would find s-mint cents all over.
Found this 1971S today. You know, it is obviously circulated but I still wonder, where's it been these last forty-seven years? What's it been doing? In my humble opinion, it has not been in constant circulation; it's too pretty. Has it been sitting in a drawer? Stolen from someone's collection? Hmmm . . . .???
Your 1970-S cent looks like the common "Large Date" variety. But I'm no expert. Maybe it's the scarce "Small Date" variety: http://koinpro.tripod.com/Articles/1970S1cSmAndLgDtCompare.htm Either way, it's a nice start for an album.