In going through the coins of my mother's estate I found this 1989-D cent which is an uncirculated coin. In looking at it with a lens I see many, many tiny bumps on the obverse and the reverse. They are not pits but bumps so I don't think it has been dipped in something which attacked the surface. The bumps are not discolored or black but are the color of the coin. So I don't think they are carbon spots. The image is purposely dark so you can see a few of them. Under normal color they do not show up at all. There are a couple of them visible just below his eye next to his nose, one is just below the I in In, and you can see another one just to the right of his tie. As I said there are several dozen of this bumps on the obverse, these are just the more obvious ones. The reverse also has several dozen bumps on it. To the naked eye the surface of the coin seems to be very slightly dusty is the best way I can describe it. It is shiny but seems to have some dust on it.

Does anybody have any idea what these are? Is the coin significant to an error collector?

Thank you for your response.

It sounds like gas bubbles. If you can take a toothpick and press down on the bump, and it depresses, it's gas. There is no premium for them....


to Coin People.

At this time. I save all of them that I come across - the investment of 1 cent makes a future profit look pretty attractive.

That's because they are plated and struck at such a ridicious speed that such imperfections happens.