Questions

[joel]

Members have told me to ask questions. So here are a few I have been saving up. Thanks, Joel
1. This 1968 D has a very pronounced date, but the mint mark is barely visible unless you look very closely. Why is the mint mark so weak?

2. This 1970 S is covered with bluish-green corrosion. It could be a valuable coin. Is there anything I can do about the corrosion?

3. This 1978 D is silver on the obverse and bronze on the reverse. Painted?

4. This 1986 has a herringbone type of design on the obverse only. What caused this?

5. This 2006 has little bubbles or blisters between the date and the Abe’s chin. What caused this?

6. This 1988 D has a tiny speckled pattern on both the obverse and the reverse. What caused this? I also have a 1987 D and a 1993 D with the same tiny speckled pattern.

[GrumpyEd]

68-D Mintmarks were being punched by hand on dies at that time, some are bolder than others
70-S It might be helped using Verdi-Care to remove some of that green stuff.
78-D Probably painted but sometimes coins tone very strange or people plated them.
86 May be striations on the planchet that show on the coin/plating
06-D and 88-D These are copper plated over zinc, those are bubbles under the plating .

[Antiquity]

The '86 looks like a finger print.

The '88 and '06 are plating blisters/bubbles. Some years are worse than others. The copper plating is separating from the zinc core.

[GrumpyEd]

The '86 looks like a finger print.

That may be correct, it could be a fingerprint.

[joel]

Thanks GrumpyEd. You are always quick and wise! Are any these worth saving as collectibles? Thanks, Joel

[GrumpyEd]

I think they are best for learning, all of those are pretty common.
Unless you see something special on the 70-S? (it looks like a corroded normal LD)

[Maineman750]

Joel, it would be best if you ask one question at a time in this part of the forum. As it is, I believe one of the "best answers" is incorrect (1986) and we would like to avoid that.

[joel]

Thanks GrumpyEd. I will save them as examples with your explanations. Thanks, Joel

[joel]

Thanks Maineman for the advice. I will follow it. What is the explanation for the 86? Thanks, Joel

[Maineman750]

Thanks Maineman for the advice. I will follow it. What is the explanation for the 86? Thanks, Joel

Fingerprints...you have to read all the posts

[coppercoins]

1. Your 1968D cent was struck with a die that had a rather weak mintmark punch then was polished, further reducing the depth and strength of the mintmark. Note how the 1 digit is thinner and puny looking - that's the effect of a heavily polished die.

2. You mention that your 1970S cent "could be valuable" - I don't see it. You have a large date coin that is not DDO #1. Anything else I can think of that would have enough value to save would be stuff that has $10-$20 value (at most) in BU, and no matter how much conserving you do to that coin, you're not going to achieve much out of it. I'd advise skipping it.

3. Your 1978 cent could be plated or it could be minted on something it's not supposed to be minted on. The only way to tell the difference is to weigh the coin to the hundredth of a gram on a gram scale. If it comes out close (and probably just over 3.11 grams), you have a plated or painted coin. Any other weight would require further investigation. The appearance of the surface does not look like plating or paint.

4. Your 1986 cent suffers from a palm print. Looks too large to be from a single finger. Nothing else.

5 and 6. Same issue. This happens sometimes on copper plated zinc planchets and has to do with an adherence issue caused when the zinc blanks have impurities on them before they are copper plated. It's commonly called "orange peel" because in severe cases the pattern looks like the outside of an orange. They are common up to 1988 and occur on any zinc cent, but have become less common through the years.

[willbrooks]

4. Your 1986 cent suffers from a palm print. Looks too large to be from a single finger. Nothing else.

You must have tiny fingers. My thumbprint easily covers the surface of a cent.

[joel]

Thanks Coppercoins for your expertise and your time in answering my questions. I sincerely appreciate it and have copied them for my future reference. I hope that is OK. Thanks, Joel