I was cashiering today at my store, I thougth I'd do a quick search through the coins in the till to see if there was anything good I could maybe take to help start my coin collection. In the drawer of the till one coin caught my eye, a 1944 Lincoln wheat penny, so I asked my supervisor if I could have it in exchange for a normal modern penny I had in my pocket and she said "go for it." The first thing I noticed on the coin was the "L" in Liberty seemed to have some line running through it which makes it look like "Miberty" even under a magnifying glass. I also thought I'd look for the mintmark but there isn't one! There isn't a mintmark on the whole thing, let alone under the year of mint. It also appears that the coin never had a mintmark on it (it hasn't been scratched out or anything, the coin is in great shape for being 60+ years old and nothing has been scraped or scratched on it.) So what's up with this? No mintmark and "Liberty" looks like "Miberty"? Anyone have any advice? Would be interesting to know. :hammer: Here's a picture by the way: (Sorry I know the quality is bad, I took like 15 shots but this was the best I could get. I think I need to replace my old Sony P52 digital camera!) Thanks in advance friends.
andrgo, What you have is a Philadelphia Mint cent.They have never had mintmarks on them.In fact,only recently have the other coin denominations,nickels,dimes,quarters and dollars,had the P mark on them.
@Mikjo0: thanks, I had no idea. @TCT: I did do quite a few pictures without flash but they turned out horrible and you can't make anything out on them, this is sadly the best non-flash: I don't know, how do you guys get such good pictures of your coins? I know my camera is pretty much obsolete, but I was stunned when it couldn't take pictures of my coins like that up close. Do some of you use scanners? How do they do for coins (big, bulky, and small ones)? Thanks again.
Perhaps you should try to use the macro function of your camera, which is usually denoted as a flower sign.
All cameras have a minimum focal distance, with some you have to be a foot or so away, sometimes more. Other more advanced cameras can focus to within 1/4 inch. That may be your problem. Try taking the pic a bit farther away and then crop the pic. Scanners work great for coins but it can be difficult to show luster & color. But there are some tricks that allow you to do so. But with a scanner or a camera, above all it takes practice.
My Nikon,like a lot of digital cameras,has a function that I didn't discover right away.If I zoom to the max and then continue holding the button down,it pops into macro function in three steps.I'm going to have to start reading the owner's manual,as unmanly a thing as that is (right up there with asking for directions)...maybe next time.
