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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;RonSanderson, post: 2574910, member: 77413&quot;]This is what I like about coins. Within one year, you can have three coins that differ only in mint mark. But they are not merely three examples of the same thing, but three variations whose differences help us understand all three more deeply.</p><p><br /></p><p>The San Francisco mint has some well struck reverses in early years, but many look just like the first picture above. Here are two coins from the Heritage archives that show a common weakness. The shoulder of Lincoln on the obverse gets most of the copper, leaving the opposite side weak at the O in ONE and often in the E PLU area.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]557640[/ATTACH]</p><p>Here is the obverse to the first picture above. It has had a few dings along the way, but the obverse doesn&#039;t show any strike weakness. And the sharpness of the front shows there is no wear, which confirms that the weak reverse was struck that way, not worn later.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]557643[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Philadelphia seems to have the highest ongoing standards. Perhaps it&#039;s because they held the master hubs and struck proofs, so had the ability to swap out worn dies and monitor the strike quality. Here is the obverse of that coin.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]557642[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Denver apparently had a bad year in 1918. Here, the obverse.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]557644[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This is a nice clean strike. This coin was in an ANACS holder as MS61. Since that&#039;s the bottom end of mint strikes, I figured I had nothing to lose by breaking it out. Moreover, based on this reference coin, I think it compares favorably with MS65! This links to &quot;<a href="https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinView.aspx?PeopleSetCoinID=984299" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinView.aspx?PeopleSetCoinID=984299" rel="nofollow">Reference coin: Coppermania Registry Example MS 65</a>&quot;. The reverse is essentially identical and both have the same kind of glossy finish.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]557645[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I like <i>coppermania</i>&#039;s comment - &quot;<span style="color: #0059b3">I have seen many 18 D&#039;s with soft reverses and I passed to chase one with a full strike. When presented with the chance to buy this one I pulled the trigger because of the color and technical grade but would still buy a better one if and when(however unlikely)one is found.</span>&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>From the NGC site: &quot;<span style="color: #0059b3">These coins were poorly made, with overused dies that were seemingly set slightly further apart than ideal to extend their lives. Fully struck examples are thus very elusive, and those displaying full red color are extremely rare.</span>&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>So each of the three reverses is typical for its mint for this year, and the answer:</p><p><br /></p><p>S-P-D.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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