Hi there, I have just completed my Lincoln penny 1959-pres. set. And now i want to add all the proofs. This is easy for 1968-pres but how do I determine a proof before they were marked with the s mint mark? Also what is up with the SMS pennies? The book I have been reading says they are really no different from the normal uncirculateds so how would you determine that you had one and would you even include it? I figure knowlege is the best tool for this. Thanks in advance! Jon
I have noticed that the proofs have very nice clean fields, they look proofy ( is that a word? ) some years can be tough! even for other denominations. I have a 1950 "proof" quarter that has been looked at by no less then 5 experts, these people are coin dealers and collectors and have decades of experience. right now 2 of them say its a super high grade mint state quarter, 2 others say its a proof, and 1 is undecided! The only way to be absolutly positive is to get them in the original mint packaging ( to be sure ) especially with the SMS ones. Also if you can take a look at proof pennys in slabs, if you look at enough authentic early proof lincoln's you will start to see a pattern. Oh, and welcome to the forum!
Look at the rims. They should be squared off on a proof but rarely on an unc. Proof coins are struck multiple times (usually twice) So detail will almost always be complete and normal planchet defects will be absent. The fields of a proof are usually very flat. These attribute are often present on the SMS coins also. There's rarely much disagreement about what is unc and what is proof, but there are some very high quality uncs which are sometimes struck with dies that have undergone some of the steps to make them proof dies. There are also branch mint proofs and extremely PL uncs. At least some of the cent and quarter dies were used used in San Francisco to strike circulation issues. It's possible other SMS dies were used elsewhere.
