I could not find this at Coppercoins so I will try here, today I received in my change a 1967 Lincoln cent. It is in uncirculated condition and looks like what I believe to be from a 1967 special mint set does anyone here have a picture or a link showing the position of the "FG" on the reverse at the bottom right step. I read somewhere years ago that the business strike position was different in the way it was sitting on the step. Am I correct in my thinking or are they both in the same position ?
I just got the info from Chuck Daughtrey at coppercoins on my above post, he says that the designs and dies are exactly the same for SMS and business strike for those years just in case someone else would like to know.
Hey Bruce, I did some comparisons of SMS cents with BU cents of the same year and this is what I'm seeing. The SMS cent will have a slight pin wheel look at a distance and almost look like a BU. Yet if you look at it with a 4X mag. it will appear to have a more proof like reflective finish then a circulation finsih. More smooth then grainy. But compare it to a proof say a 68, it is not quite as refective. Put this difference is very very slight.
It might be noted that the SMS coins were struck in San Francisco which also struck cents without mint marks for circulation in 1967. They often used the retired SMS dies to strike coins for circulation.
Hi, Bruce. I believe that there is no way to know for sure, unless you have a coin that is in an original SMS, or a coin that is in an original Mint bag. I've searched for anyone who might have die markers to look for, and nobody seems to have an answer. Several folks, on the CU forum, have asked David Hall how he tells the difference, and none of them ever get answers. I guess it's not "what you know", it's "who you know". :hug:
