Hi, I am sure that someone asked this question before, but since there are so many threads on this website, it would take to long for me to look. Here is my question. I bought a 2008 penny that has black specks on it. I took it back to the dealer and his gladly exchanged it for a clean one. What are those black specks and do they detract from the value of the coin? Thank you very much.
Short version - yes. Without seeing them best guess is they are what is known as carbon spots. But they could be almost anything.
