SMS Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Circulation finds are exciting. First glances usually produce nothing. But, after looking at the same design for hours on end, little things just "jump out" at you. Some things are man-made alterations, others may be damage incurred after the minting process, and yet, still more may be varieties or errors that occur prior to or during the minting process itself. Taking the time to observe, investigate, theorize, and research anomalies can be just as exciting as the discovery. Some people get excited about finding that rare "make-me-rich" coin. Personally, I'm content with the excitement of the research and the ponderings on the history behind a coin. This particular coin jumped out, because at a glance, this cent says "LIBFRTY" instead of the normally defined "LIBERTY" we see on our Lincoln cents. First thing I thought was, "Neat! Wonder who did that?" Examining the coin further in the right light at just the right angle, you could make out a weak lower leg on the 'E'. Naturally, the skeptic in me automatically assumes that somebody had tooled the lower leg off. Looking at the rest of the letters in "LIBERTY", it is noticeably crooked. The letters do not really align correctly, and they are definitely wider than the rest of the lettering on the obverse side. Other than the lower leg of the 'E', everything else appears to be normal. There are some quite obvious scratches at the two o'clock position along the legend, but nothing that isn't seen on alot of coins that go through the counting machines. Discounting the possibility of intentional tooling, the next possible reason considered is a die fill. Grease build up can easily produce the effect of missing device detail. The problem I had with this particular theory is that many fill errors I have seen "fade" from the devices. It is normally a gradual degradation of the device clarity. Although probably the most common type of error, the cut off of the lower leg on the 'E' it too defined in my opinion to be a simple die fill. A die fill response also does not explain the thickness of the entirety of the word "LIBERTY" and what I would call the sloppiness of the appearance of the word itself on this particular coin. So, what is the input everyone has on this coin? In any case, it's quite an interesting find from circulation and can only drive one even further into research and investigation of coins, which is what our lust is all about! Closeup - Full Coin Closeup - "LIBFRTY" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numismatic nut Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Almost compleet (on lower part of E) Die fill, nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppercoins Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 It's simple coin damage. A hit caused the letter to be flat like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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