New to collecting. Any advice on what's going on with this penny? Also any direction towards literature and the like would be greatly appreciated.
Environmental damage. Road rash. Scratches, cuts, dings. Exposed zinc core. None of which happened at the mint. Toss it before it disintegrates. There are a lot of resources that are good but it depends on what you are interested in. Are you looking for errors, varieties, or just general minting info? Are you specifically interested in cents? Or do you collect other coins?
Im interested in coin collecting in general. Errors, rarities, everything. Anything U.S. from one cent to quarters, mostly from 1930s and up. Thanks
You came to the right place to learn. Check out the different forums here and enjoy the reading. Welcome to the fun at CT.
Whitman Red Book is the beginner's bible for many aspects of US coin collecting. Start there, refine your interest, and start diverting to your specific path from there.