New Here and have questions

Hello everyone! My husband and I have recently become interested in all this coin searching stuff. Some of the things we found are really cool looking. But I have a question about this 1945 no mint mark {Philli} wheat penny. It really looks like an error on it. The C in cent is strangely misshapen and has a sort of "bubble" or "mound behind the curve of the C. It is not torn up but is circulated. I would like an opinion on it. Can anyone tell me how to put pictures of it on here? I also have a few other coins I would like to get opinions on. Help? Anyone?

 

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Right next to where you clicked to post your question is a button labelled 'Upload a File'. Click it to add photos. Show us cropped and in-focus photos of both sides of your coin.
Welcome to CT.

 

Welcome to CT. We'd love to see what you have. From your description, it sounds like damage. But pictures will certainly help. Follow rick's instructions and you should be good to go

 

Oh! Thank you and I will get those pictures asap...could be nothing but I am new to this and would like a go to for our questions.

 

How can you tell the difference between damage and mint error?

 

Damage, or "Post Mint Damage" aka PMD
can be ANY type of damage occurring after it has left the mint.
There are millions of ways and more that a coin can be damaged.

I used to use coin in jewelry work as buffers to other things .. so they would get damaged. I used to use copper blanks but those cost money, and pennies if damaged were always worth 1 cent no matter what. but just think of where you have found money ... on the ground, parking lot, all scratched up in a jar, stuck in the clothes dryer/washer, garbage disposal, cat threw up ... the list goes on forever.

The key is learning what is possible at the Mint and researching how coins are made and then being able to distinguish what are real errors and what is simply PMD.

The only real possible way to answer a question is to see pictures.
you know, a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

I'm fairly new here as well but one of the things I learned early on and I think will help you a lot is understanding how the mint process works, what the dies are and how they work, what happens when the coin is struck. If you read up, and learn about those things, a lot of the "errors" you find on your coins you'll be able to determine that they are actually damage. Having the mindset of "how can "this" happen at the mint" most of the time will give you the answer you need.

After that, start going through the old posts, do a keyword (doubled die, rpm, lamination, machine doubling, etc) search and you'll learn what people are finding out there and start to learn the type of real errors based on the comments from the old threads. Hope this helps.

 

Very informative answers from you both. I'm sure it will help as we begin this new hobby. However I do believe I have a close to mint condition 1959 philli penny. She's a beautiful specimen. Once I get to load my pics I will be glad to share my findings. I also have a buffalo nickle, but it has no date on it and no mint mark either. I know it's not worth anything but it is the first one I have ever seen. I found it to be very cool.
I'm charging my camera right now. It's gonna be a bit before my pics are up but i intend to have them up today-at some point.

 

With that Buffalo *nickel*, if you wanted, you could put it in a small glass with some white vinegar and a bit of dissolved salt. After a bit, it will raise the date from it. This will however "ruin" the coin. Though to be honest, a dateless buff isn't worth much more than face anyways. I do it with all the dateless buffs I find. I've managed to fill almost an entire year/mm set by doing that.
Be sure to check to make sure it isn't a Type 1 though. If it is, you know you have a 1913 without having to damage the coin.

 

Welcome to CoinTalk, a good place for collectors.

 

type 1???

 

well thank you. Im just a beginner.....i know very little......

 

Doh, forgot to provide the link:
http://buffalonickel.org/1913-buffalo-nickel-type-1-and-type-2/

 

I just looked up the buff...and I believe i do have just that...the type 1...wow...

 

Take a picture and let us see.

 

ok. loading my pics to computer now... just a few..

 

Type 1 looks like this:

Type 2 looks like this:

 

My motherinlaw asked me to look through her dateless buffalos. From the lot I pulled two 1918 8 over 7's and sold the pair for $725.00. You don't need the date and match the other diagnostics. I of course gave her the proceeds, I'm the favorite.