I was hunting through pennies and encountered this wheat cent. I have seen similar cents with bold type and a tan color that looks different than other wheat cents. What made this wheat cent have such bold type? Is it the black stuff around it? What about the color?
The correct terminology is "sharp devices" (or motto). The sharpness is due to an early die state. As dies and hubs become worn, the devices tend to spread out and get ugly. Look at most of the 1960's cents. Crud from circulation. Looks normal to me. Copper coins can take on all sorts of strange colors, especially after they've been circulated.
I agree with Thad, nothing looks unusual. I believe you will find different decades had different variations of colors the coins will naturally tone to. I see big differences between teens and 1950's wheats in color. IDK if its age or metal, but when sorting through bags of cents you can usually pick out older ones by color as much as anything else.
