The term means that the "A" and the "M" in AMERICA are close together! All Lincoln Cents generally before 1993 had a wide space between the "A" and the "M" (designated Wide AM). In 1992, the Mints decided to make all Business Strike Cents "Close AM" and Proof Cents "Wide AM". There are some technicall reasoning behind the Mints doing this but I think they did mainly so someone could tell the difference between to two! While most 1992 cents are of the "Wide AM" type, there were some "Close AM" types that were minted and put into circulation. In 1998, 1999 and 2000, the Mints had a lot of Die failures and some Proof Dies were sent back to Phiiladelphia for use in minting Business Strike Cents, thus the 1998, 1999 and 2000 "Wide AM" Variety (Business Strike) Cents came to be. As a result, in 1998 and 1999 (and possibly 2000) the San Francisco Mint had to request and use some Business Strike Cent Dies for minting Proof Cents to meet production demands, thus the 1998 and 1999 Proof "Close AM Variety" Cents were born! Although it is quite possible that some 2000 Proof Cents were struck using the Business Strike or Close AM type Dies, no specimens have been found to Date. To tell the difference between the Wide AM and Close AM type Cents, just look at the "AM" in AMERICA on the back of a pre-1992 Business Strike Cent compared to the same of a post-1992 Business Strike Cent! Frank
This is my favorite error - You will also know a Wide AM by the little FG initials on the right hand side of the memorial. I found a 1998 Wide AM last Friday Night and pictures of it are below. Notice how the F and G are kind of close to the base of the memorial. On a close AM the FG initials are away from the memorial base and seem a little bit thinner in design. The difference can be seen with the naked eye - but it's not easy! The best bet is to do what huntsman53 recommended - look at a 1992 penny and then look at a post 1992 penny. However, close AMs exist in the 1992 D and it is rumored in the 1992 as well! If you find any of those - please take pictures and share with us - but I must say I've been looking for years and although I've found 1998, 1999 and 2000 Wide AMs... haven't gotten my hands on a 1992 D Close AM yet.
Just to clarify (and since I like showing off the picture!) here is a comparison of 2000 wide and close AM cents that I have found in circulation.
Nice Examples Agcollector! However, one must really look at the FG to make sure a wide is a wide. Imagine my excitement when I found the coin pictured below a 1999! Even some experts here were fooled! I thought I had a big winner, but then we looked further and found the FG was wide. I have a 1999 truly wide AM and when I matched it up, it was not quite the same either. There exists a variation that is a close AM that resembles a wide at least regarding the AMs, but not the FGs. (if that makes any sense!) Augh. I'm not unethical - but I bet I could have sold this particular variation as a wide AM on E*Bay or something. Instead I put her back into circulation and cried a little bit. Esky
