Has there ever been re-design(s) of lincoln's bust on the penny? I see subtle differences comparing different years and I don't know if it's wear or not but I think the design has changed somewhat between some years. On this pic : 1. Bottom of nose on 1964 / 1968 S is on an angle compared to 1985 / 1971 2. Beard on 1968 S is thicker compared to 1975 /1985 3. Beard/chin on 1960 D is more rounded and bigger compared to the others 4. Beard/chin on 1975 and 1985 looks more square and thinner compared to the others 5. Front of the hair on 1964 looks different than others. 6. Nose bridge on 1975 is thinner compared to the others. 7. Hairline on 1985 and 1971 seems higher (not touching the collar) I'm not looking for "errors" or "varieties" on my coins, just really and plainly curious if there was/were changes on the design. I did try and research it but wasn't really getting any hit but maybe it was more of the lack of using the right keywords.
Good question.. There are different factors I can think of in the subtle looking changes you see. I can say Overpolished Dies, Circulation Wear and even Worn Die Strikes. Let's see what others have to add.
There have been quite a few Design changes ( Obverse ) over the years . http://varietyvista.com/01b LC Doubled Dies Vol 2/Obverse Design Varieties.htm
I believe that the cent didn't actually change designs of Lincoln but remade the master hub in 1968. It had became so worn that Lincolns features had become distorted. When they did make a new master they made the bust slightly smaller to pull it slightly further from the rim and did the same with all of the devices.
As @Hommer said. Compare 1968 to 1969. There have been a few other times it's been changed since than as well, but I forgot the exact dates
When you assemble a nearly complete set of modern Lincolns, it becomes obvious that the bust has been redefined quite a few times. As was written above, perhaps the most radical was from 1968 to 1969. Radicals. Who knew? In 1982, they did it again, in order to create a lower to create a lower relief for the copper plated zinc product. There are still others too.
Thanks for all the responses and the link to the varieties, that's really cool. I see why I couldn't get any hit researching...I should've been looking for "obverse" instead of "lincoln bust design" lol. The die includes other devices and not just lincoln. This is good learning for me...I'll try and find out more until I can't. My curiosity is still peaked but I think maybe all the suggested causes combined addresses what I'm seeing. I forgot to mention the cheeks which also shows a lot of different patterns. Thanks again for all the responses! Much appreciated.
Every series is going to have changes like this, if it runs for more than a couple of years. The master just wears out, and they have to re-engrave a new one. There will be subtle changes, of course. Even the Franklin Half, which only ran from 1948-1963, had a master change in 1960.
Yeah I don't see this happening on other denominations like dimes, nickels, etc. They do fade but the outline stays...maybe because they mint pennies much much more than the other coins so the master wears out more.
I am not sure I agree with all the explanations attributed to the Lincoln Cent design changes by Dr. Wile Easily done I guess using the original mold of the design to cast a new Galvano and setting the reduction lathe to reduce a slightly smaller design onto the new master hub.
