I took my new avatar from this coin. No, it is not a double struck proof! I just liked the concept of superimposing the reverse over the obverse. This is more scarce than its business strike counterpart. Maybe if I have time and people want, I'll post more photos of it.
So...hard to tell, is that a close AM - thus your subject? You don't really make it clear in your post.
Not until they are found! :eat: As far as I know, the Close AM proof variety has only been found in 1999 sets. That is not to say that there are none for 1998 and 2000. It was believed that the Wide AM variety were only found on the 1998-2000 cents, but recently one was discovered on a 1996 cent. The 1992 and 1992D business strikes come in a Close AM variety (as that year was a transition to a Wide AM variety for business strikes), so I would imagine that a Wide AM variety would be what to look for on a 1992S proof.
NPCoin, Why makes you think that the 1999-S "Close AM" Proof Cent is more scarce that it's Business Strike counterpart? I have Cherrypicked three 1999-S "Close AM" Proof Cents still encased in Proof Sets (2 Clad Set and 1 Silver Set), while I had to win my one and only 1999-P "Wide AM" Cent off of ebay! I believe that the Population of Varieties is the other way around! Frank
Huntsman, nice finds! :thumb: Having found a 1999-S close AM proof myself, I'll paraphrase something John Wexler told me about this die variety. Based on his research, he suspects that as few as a single die pair involves the 99-S close AM proof. And, since proof dies are limited to runs of 3,000, that means a far lower mintage than possibly the business strike '99 wide AM--even if several proof dies were involved. I have found two 1998-S close AM proofs and one 1999-S close AM proof, but no '99 business strike wide AM. There could be a simple explanation for that, as the proof cents are concentrated within the collector community, while the '99 wide AM business strikes are spread out amongst billions of circulating cents--where the majority remain to be found. --just my .03 (close AMs)
Yeah! What he said! Though I will say that I have suspicions that more than one die pair was used simply using logic against the fact that the ClAM has been found in both the regular mint issue packaging as well as the silver mint issue packaging. I would also add, be careful using the TPG population reports to try to determine how many are actually out there, too. As coins are submitted for cross-over and crack out resubmissions, the population reports will not change to express these submissions. So the same coin may be submitted four different times, but, instead of calculating as a population of one coin, it will count as a calculation of four coins (when 1 physical coin actually exists). One reason I personally believe it is so hard to find the 1999 WAMs is because of a few items. The first item being as KurtS said, there are a number of the 1999 WAM cents in the hands of businesses and the populace, using them in commerce. Eventually, these pieces will find their way into collectors' hands, but at much lower grades. I also personally believe that it also has to do with the requests from banks to the Reserve for cent shipments. It is possible that you are in an area that does not necessarily utilize cents in commerce that much (especially if a lot of places have "cent trays" so clerks do not need math skills to give cents in change). If this is the case, then the businesses in the area may not order cents from their banks that often. If the banks are not receiving requests for cents, then they'll simply re-roll their own deposits to meet customer demand. If this is the case, then your area banks are simply not receiving batches of "new" cents. And by now, ten years after the 1999 WAM was produced by the mint, the WAMs are so saturated in the distribution that you would need a rather large number of orders for cents and a lot of luck to find one. Yet, that still does not make the 1999 WAM any more scarce because one area or group has a harder time finding them. The scarcity is based on the availability, and there are definitely more 1999 WAMs available than 1999S ClAMs. I know how you fell though. It can get rather frustrating to search hundred$ in cents and not be able to find one, then hear of someone finding them monthly. It's irksome. Personally, I believe the prices for the 1999 WAMs are a bit overrated because of the difficulty in obtaining one. The 1999S ClAM also remains in more obscurity, in my opinion. I believe that when collectors realize that there are only so many 1999S ClAMs available, and the 1999 WAMs begin to become easier to obtain, that the price difference between the 1999 WAM and 1999S ClAM will reverse and the 1999 WAM prices will fall as the 1999S ClAM prices rise. Good luck in your searching for your WAM! I know I still haven't found one myself to date either.
Can someone please clarify what years the business strike AM varieties started? I tried to Google, and did not find a certain answer. Is this correct: Pre 92 - All intended to be wide AM 1992 - Transition year, both varieties common 1993 + All intended to be close AM Also, when did the proof varieties start?
