I have looked at the other threads on here and at the lincoln sites and I think I have a 1970 mint set with the small date. I won 5 1970 mint sets in the still sealed USPS mail package from the mint on an online auction last week and picked up the coins today. I couldn't leave the 70's be and had to open it and check. Well, sure enough 1 mint set "S" penny is different from the other 4. I checked, double checked and triple checked and I think I have a small date penny. I took some pictures with the camera and with the microscope to show here. Let me know what you think. There also appears to be some MDD on the date and MM.
The tip of the loop of the "9" seems to be pointing between the mintmark and the bottom of the '7', and I seem to see a diagonal line on the '7" from the inner point ot the angle where the horizontal bar joins the vertical , to the outside point. Maybe it is the lighting of those areas, but that would indicate a large date if both are actually like that.
The loop of the 9 is pointing straight at the 7. It's just really weak. Looks good to me. What's with the "." after 1970, though?
The other markings are there - the weakened strike in LIBERTY as well as TRUST up on the rim. Looks like a carbon spot "black spot" to me. Funny tho that it looks like a perfect period at the end of a sentence...
Thanks for the opinions. DesertGem, I think it is the lighting washing out the tip of the curl, but these "small Date" - "Large Date" things are so hard to figure out.(To me) It really helps that I found the links when searching the forums before I posted of the weakened "Liberty", that is a lot easier to tell when lined up next to another 70S. I took a couple more pics in lower light to try not to wash out everything. See if this changes anybody's minds, good or bad for me.
