1922 Plain - Yes or No

[RWBILLER]

Hi:
We are seriously considering buying a 1922 Plain (Die 2) probalby in VF20/25. Maybe some day we can upgrade such as Brad has. Our question is this and my daughter and I are split on it. IS the 22 Plain a coin that is a MUST in a Lincoln Cent collection ie. to say you got them all. My daughter says yes and I am leaning towards no - we are confused.

What is your opinion?

thanks Roger and Heidi

[1sgret]

My opinion is yes if you are trying to complete a Lincoln Set.

But if I were going to do that I would collect all three Die pairs to make a really nice Lincoln set.

Die #2 would be the main one to purchase and then pick up the others later.

[jcuve]

I know that the '22 plain (die pair 2) is different than the normal lineup of rare standard Lincolns in that it is a highly abraded die with a missing mintmark and other keys, like the '14D and '09S VDB are low mintage keys. Nevertheless, enough time has passed with the '22 plain appearing essential (and being included in almost all albums) that it is pretty much necessary for a complete Lincoln cent collection. I could even see someone making a case for the '55 DDO to be part of a complete collection too, but that argument wouldn't be a persuasive in my opinion.

Now I don't have a plain '22 and cannot fathom the idea of buying one anytime soon...

[abe]

To this day I still think it is not, and should not be part of the regular issues. If a person would like one just because its a collectable, thats a different story in my opinion. The one thing that will always stay in my mind is, these dies were intentionally altered, whats the big deal.

[trails]

We must remember what caused the now famous 1922 no D die and that is die wear and abrasion of that particular die to keep it in service. No other key Lincoln cent is like this particular die; even the others associated with it were caused by a grease filling the mint mark. So, we have 4, 1922 dies that are in the error category, again set apart from the normal major key Lincoln cents (1909-S V.D.B., 1909-S, 1914-D, 1924-S and the 1931-S).

If you were to think this out logically, only coins that had the original design elements, as intended, should be included as the base set. This would exclude the 4 dies of the 1922-D Lincoln cent without (or partial) D mint marks.

So my feeling is that coins like the 1922-D (without the mint mark or partial mint mark) or the 1937-D Buffalo nickel with only three legs (or other dates with the same anomaly) should be excluded from the base set since these dies are errors and not original designed dies.

BJ Neff

[Brad]

I don't think that you need it to say that you have a complete set. Just like the 3-legged buffalo nickel, people what it more than they probably should. It is very popular. I think that it is better to have one die pair 2, than all three of the other die pairs put together. I also think this coin has a lot more potential than the other key dates. I paid $1600 for my PCGS VF35 a year ago. I've seen the same coin for $2000+. Take your time and wait for a good deal.

[coppercoins]

It's very simple folks...

If you are collecting a complete set by date and mintmark, the 1922 "no-D" error cent is NOT a part of your set. It is a 1922D cent with a missing mintmark.

If you are trying to collect ALL varieties and major errors, the 1922 "no-D" cent is a necessary part of the set as well as a LOT of other high value coins that would not be in the previous set...but as a complete set you would also need ALL doubled dies, ALL mintmark varieties, and ALL major known errors.

Realistically, the 1922 "no-D" cent (I REFUSE to call it a '1922 plain' because that's simply NOT what it is) is a VERY overvalued coin that is very highly misunderstood and only has a market because of the misunderstanding. It was at one time thought that there was a small erroneous run of actual 1922 Philly minted cents. These sold for a premium from the start for that reason. Of course we know better now, but for some reason refuse as a whole to drop the subject and let these ugly little beasts fall through the cracks where they belong.

[RWBILLER]

Brad and gang:
Thx for the advice - we probably get one because of the value going up. I had one in 2002 that was vf20 and paid 800 it is now 1200-1500.
i'll keep you informed
roger

[RWBILLER]

Charles:
The first piece of evidence against it that i showed my daughter was your writing in your book - which holds the first place in our library - your explaination of grading mint state coins should be standard through out the industry!!
Roger

[coppercoins]

Thank you Roger. Let me know if you'd like to call me and have me explain it to your daughter over the phone. Might surprise her somewhat!