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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;19Lyds, post: 440357, member: 15929&quot;]Hi Ruben! Thats my coin you&#039;re referring to in this thread!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>First off, we are not referring to the coin as a Pattern but as a prototype. There is a difference but I&#039;m danged if I know the exact technicalities. I believe a pattern is a trial strike of a design concept whereas a prototype is farther along in the actual production process.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As for it being very minor: Well, to someone that casually looks at IKE&#039;s, I imagine they would consider it very minor but for someone that looks at a lot of IKE&#039;s, it is without a doubt very major.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>One of the biggest and most noticeable differences in the coins is the evolution of the Earth on the reverse. When you study these coins, you quickly learn which date should have which Earth on the reverse. For those that have a 1971-S Proof Coin and a 1971-S 40% SIlver Business Strike, just look at the earth. Look at the Islands off the coast of Florida. On the Business Strike Coin, you&#039;ll see 3 distinct islands the are more to the East of Florida while on the Proof coins. you&#039;ll see that not only is Florida shaped differently than the BS coin but the Islands are no longer metal globs as they are incused outlines of islands all bunched together like one &quot;mega&quot; island. For that matter, the entire eastern seaboard is an incused line instead of a solid relief ridge!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The Earth was what I was concentrating on when I found this coin as I could easily spot the the island configuration was totally wrong for a business strike coin. And, if it were a business strike coin, it was the absolute best example I had ever laid eyes on. Totally devoid of any contact marks with a nice full cheek on the obverse. An easy MS68 possibly MS69 even by PCGS&#039;s standards. The reverse was pretty much the same except for that Earth. I could not spot any island configurations which which should have been there either as a proof or as a business strike.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>After I got back to my apartment and could look more closely at the coin, I knew immediately that I was in over my head. The coin was definitely a proof due to the crispness of the strike and the clarity of the fields. I emailed the folks in the IKE Group who took full control of the examination and attribution process. I owe each of them a lot for the time they have devoted to this one coin and for their willingness to share information and knowledge with me over the years!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If you really want to learn about IKE&#039;s goto <a href="http://www,ikegroup.org" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www,ikegroup.org" rel="nofollow">http://www,ikegroup.org</a> and register on their forums. All of them will be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding any IKE Variety and there are quite a few!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Lee[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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