Hi Guy's I am somewhat new to this, and as I was getting used to looking at coins through a 5x magnifier I saw this 89 p lincoln that looks to have a vanishing L on liberty and almost looks like the I is doubled slightly. Any thoughts?
Can't say, for sure, about the doubling, but I do think that the "L" may be the result of a filled die. Just a guess, but that is often the case with weakly struck-up lettering.
That is caused by a sinking of the die around the edge. It can often be found forming a raised "hill" around the edge of the coin just inside the rim. In later stages the hill can almost reach the same height as the lettering and as the hill grows in height the striking pressure in the area declines so the lettering becomes weaker and weaker. It can be found on the late copper strikes but becomes much more common on the plated zinc cents. Especially in the cents of the 1980's.
