I got this semi-key 1928-S from a seller whose photos were not so great. I tried to read the coin through the bad contrast and color. Here are those photos from the seller. For one thing, they are much too blue. The graininess is incredible. Seriously, we could take better photos with a phone. I got it for $71. I got a few other coins from the same dealer, but now their photos have improved dramatically. My cherry-picking days are over, at least there.
When I started with Lincolns I bought a set, almost as an impulse buy. All the coins before 1934 were removed. The three coins from 1929 were among the first I bought. This Philadelphia example was $15. I really like the blue high-point toning that adds to the contrast on the face and hair. The swirling luster on the reverse has a delightful patch of green.
This 1929-D is certainly a 64 BN, since it was graded by ANACS and bought through Great Collections. It was almost exactly on the price guide, with a bit more for buyer’s premium. The chatter along Abe’s lapel might have knocked the grade down a bit. It is well camouflaged and doesn’t bother me. As with many of these 1920’s coins I have been posting, there is very little die wear in evidence. The surfaces have very few light radial flow lines. The reverse has a touch of pleasant toning. The luster is not really cartwheel, as would be evident on a coin with more die wear. Instead, the luster follows the compound curvature inherent to the design. The texture on the fields is not smooth, either. It is more granular. I think that is by design, as shown on this matte proof (which should define what was intended, I would think). 1929-D
The 1929-S wraps up my survey of cents of the 1920’s. This red-brown example was $39. For people who work in rarer territory, these prices may not seem worth the bother. In today’s world, it is literally lunch money. I still have a reluctance to spend anything at all; I’m sure there are lots of people who have a healthier relationship with their money. For this issue, NGC says “Those certified as gems (MS 65 RD or higher) may or may not be well struck, as the role of strike in grading is limited. Only a very badly struck coin will have points deducted…”. I have stated my disagreement about this, but all I have to do is find the well-struck coins I like and avoid the mushy ones. Here we can see that the fields on both sides still retain that granular surface that exists before die wear obliterates it. Again, the luster follows the field curvature, rather than the radial cartwheel luster that comes with worn dies. Once again, I think I like the variations in color found on a Red Brown coin. I only have fully red ones from 1935 onwards, generally MS66-67, so I enjoy the variations in color in the first two decades of the series. I don’t think I would ever look at a set that was just fully red all the way through.