Category Archives: Hobby

These posts promote the hobby of kings and provide the methods and means to advance coin collecting.

More Wheat Cent Doubled Dies

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Many roll hunters and cent collectors easily bypass some valuable doubled dies. In this article, we cover three: 1934 DDO, 1943 DDO, and 1951-D DDO.

1934 DDO

The 1934 DDO Cent has a decent spread, which you can readily see with the naked eye or a loupe. Look at “Liberty” and the date in the illustration below:

Values depend on color and condition. A heavily worn or lightly circulated brown example typically trades between $45 and $150. If the coin is uncirculated, values climb into the $300 to $1,400+ range depending on eye appeal. One exceptional MS66 brown example sold at auction for $14,363.

1943 DDO

You may need a loupe or microscope to see this doubled die. The key marker is the 9 of the date. You’ll also see thick lettering and doubling on “Liberty.”

In XF to AU, this doubled die sells for $50 to $150. In MS64, between $300 and $700 and in the thousands for MS66 and higher.

1951-D DDO

The official designation is 1951-D Doubled Die Obverse (FS-101) Lincoln Cent, with slight doubling on the obverse lettering and the date.

You will need magnification to see the following:

  • The Motto: Look for a clear spread and notch doubling on the words IN GOD WE TRUST.
  • LIBERTY: You will find distinct hub doubling, spread, and notches on the letters of LIBERTY.
  • The Date: There is a secondary, offset ghosting or doubling effect visible on the digits of 1951.

This example sold recently on GreatCollections for $78.

For other errors and varieties of Lincoln Wheat Cents, see this list (click photo below):

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Die Polish, Hairlines and Slide Marks

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Die polish lines look like cleaning hairlines and album slide marks, but there are distinct differences, discussed here. Die polish lines meant to extend the life of a working die have no effect on straight grading. Album slide marks, if light, may lower a straight grade because of eye appeal or may disqualify it if significant. Hairlines earn a Details grade from major holdering companies.

Let’s look at the difference and similarity here:

To understand the difference, you need to know how coins are made. Lines from die polish, done to preserve the life of the working die, are raised. In other words, the metal from the striking process fills in the lines and raises them. Lines from cleaning and album slide marks are not raised and dig into the metal surface.

You should never clean a coin with any kind of abrasive. When you do, you get hairlines. Slide marks occur when plastic covers are inserted and removed from Dansco and similar albums:

Another difference: Die polish lines do not go over nearby devices. See how the lines do not run into Jefferson’s profile on this nickel:

This 1870 dollar has been harshly cleaned, with hairlines going over devices. The same effect occurs with slide marks; however, the lines typically are straight rather than irregular. See the difference:

As you can see, hairlines not only go over devices but are curved and irregular. Slide marks go over devices but are usually more uniform as the plastic cover slides out in a uniform manner.

PCGS considers slide marks a common form of unintentional, secondary handling rather than deliberate alteration or harsh cleaning; as such, they do not trigger an automatic “Details” grade. If the lines are shallow, faint and not in key areas, the coin will straight grade with a lower numerical grade. However, if the plastic panels dragged debris across the coin, you probably will get a scratch/Details grade.

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Crossing Over Coins

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There are many reasons to submit coins for crossover service: You might have coins in lesser-tier holders. You might want to change companies for set registries. Or perhaps your holdered coin is damaged or cracked, giving you a reason to try another company. Maybe you have a coveted green PCGS first generation holder and now want to try for a higher grade at NGC.

We will be addressing those questions and discussing here the two major holdering companies, PCGS and NGC. If you are interested in ANACS crossover service, click here for more information. CAC? Click here.

Crossovers require that you have a coin in a holder with some sort of certification and grade. Before giving the details for PCGS/NGC services, refresh yourself with lower-tier companies. This article describes second, third and bottom-tier slabbing companies.

PCGS has a nifty visual explaining how to cross over any coin in a certified holder.

Coins must be pre-graded by that other company, completely sealed. The form to fill out your crossover is on the dark blue “Crossover Now” tab. But before you submit, know what you will need to do.

These are you options:

  • You can request that your coin be the same grade as on the label.
  • Or you can request any numerical grade on the Sheldon 1-70 scale.
  • If your coin has a flaw, such as cleaning, you must decide whether you want a PCGS Details label spelling out the problem.
  • Finally, you can request a specific grade higher or lower than what is on the label.

If PCGS holders your coin, it will crack it out of your slab. If it doesn’t meet the company’s standards, you will get it back with your original holder.

NGC only considers coins graded by PCGS for its crossover service. You will be asked to state your minimum grade. If NGC agrees, it will automatically remove the coin from the PCGS holder. If the coin fails to meet NGC standards, it will be returned to the submitter in its original PCGS holder. The full NGC grading fee will apply.

What if you have coin from another service and still want to cross over to NGC? Your coin is not eligible for crossover. However, NGC states that it can remove coins from these holders when submissions are accompanied by a coin removal consent form, which must accompany the submission form.

Those forms are on the NGC site.

Of course, you do not have to submit your holdered coins for crossover service. You can crack them out of the old holder and just submit your coins as raw. Experienced hobbyists know how to crack open a holder. Proxiblog will not explain how because injuries are possible from the shards of plastic. Some can literally burst and injure your eyes.

If you don’t know how to do, please do not try.

Finally, a word about old green PCGS holders, which you can submit to NGC for a new grade and label. The myth about those green holders is that they were undergraded in the late 1980s. Many were, and these were long since crossed over or submitted for a regrade.

The green holder grades are inconsistent. Some were undergraded. Some were overgraded. And some had flaws that current graders would catch.

Here are two green-holdered PCGS coins that were sent to NGC.

As you can see, the DMPL designation was lost on both in the transfer. One point higher for the 1879. I lost hundreds of dollars.

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Standing Liberty Varieties

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The first two years of the Standing Liberty Quarter resulted in seven varieties: 1916 key date and 1917-P/D/S Types I and II. This article defines markers and designs so you can distinguish differences among these coins.

The 1916 Quarter with a mintage of a mere 52,000 only used one obverse and one reverse die. So these are easy to distinguish from the many replicas and counterfeits out there.

Every coin should have the same placement and design of its devices.

Soon after minting this beautiful quarter, the US Mint realized that the date was positioned on a raised pedestal. That meant it could wear away completely with years in circulation.

You can identify the key date by these major markers:

  • The Gown: Drapery of the dress clings to Lady Liberty’s right foot down to the pedestal. On a 1917 quarter, the gown drapery is away from the foot and curled.
  • The Shield and Border: The dots framing the coin’s outer rim resemble diamonds on the 1916, rather than the dashes on the 1917.
  • No Mint Mark: The entire mintage of the 1916 was struck at the Philly mint.
  • Type I Reverse: The 1916 quarter uses the Type 1 Reverse. There are no stars underneath the eagle. There are 7 stars on the left and 6 on the right. Type II has three stars under the eagle.
  • Right Breast Exposed: This differs from other reverses with Lady Liberty in chainmail.

Let’s illustrate that with a 1917 Type II design.

One other marker is important in Type II designs, and that is placement of the mintmark. Here is a 1917-D as example:

This brings us to why Type II was designed. Numismatists debate why Lady Liberty’s exposed breast was covered with chainmail armor in Type II designs. Some thought the exposed breast was lewd. The coin was designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil. It drew some criticism in the media. But also World War I also might have inspired the armor. What happens, though, is that you can tell the difference.

This brings us to Type I and II of 1917 P/D/S/ designs.

Mintages were roughly equal with Type I and II P/D/S quarters. Type II mintages were greater than Type I in 1917:

As such, values are marginally higher in Type I examples, especially since these are coveted because of the Type I design. Here are complete values compliments PCGS CoinFacts.

It is especially important to note the design differences because Chinese has flooded the market with fakes. Here’s an example, a purported 1916 with a Type II reverse:

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentaries, click here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

Markers for 1916-D Dime

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The 1916-D Mercury Dime is the key date of the Mercury series with a mintage of 264,000 coins. In 1916, the Philadelphia Mint made 22,180,080 coins and the San Francisco Mint, 10,450,000. Those two other mintages are important because scammers began added a mintmark to Philadelphia coins that year. Many also altered 1916-S dimes to make that mintmark look like a D.

Fortunately, we know much about the Denver mintmark. For starters, the Mint used the same punch tool for the 1916-D as it did for the coveted 1914-D Cent.

Look closely: The outer shape of the D is squared off rather than rounded. And the cavity inside the D has a vague triangular shape rather than oval.

Four reverse dies were used on the 1916-D Dime. If your coin deviates from these positions, it is fake.

Jack D. Young has a great Proxiblog article on fake 1916-Ds offered on eBay. He made this graphic below, which we use here. Take a photo of your 1916-D coin or a screenshot if you are considering purchasing one and then compare.

Two of the four genuine reverse dies feature a repunched mint mark (Dies 2 and 3 above).

Here is the example used earlier but now identified.

Genuine 1916-D Dimes often have tiny die scratches or die cracks near the date on the obverse.

It is important to know markers of rarities in coin collecting. Otherwise you may end up with a counterfeit or replica if not holdered by a major company like PCGS or NGC. Be sure to check out our rarity tab for markers of our most desirable coins.

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Markers for 1877 Indian Cent

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One of the most counterfeited coins is the key date 1877 Indian Cent. It has a low mintage of 852,500. Genuine examples cost hundreds and thousands of dollars. A Good-4 example retails for $650. Extra fine ones go for $3,000 and MS63 Brown, $7,000.

Those values alone make it necessary to know markers so you do not end up with a fake, altered or replica coin.

On all genuine circulation strikes, a single reverse working die was used. So these markers are vital and uniform.

The “N” in ONE slowly grows weaker and shallow as it proceeds to the bottom right corner.

The top left corner of the “N” in CENT also is weakly struck and shallow when you compare it to other letters.

If these “N”s are sharply struck on the reverse, you’re looking at a counterfeit coin.

There are also obverse markers, beginning with the so-called “Slanted 77” in the date. Draw an imaginary horizontal line across the date, and the second “7” should be slightly lower than the first.

If the “7”s are parallel and equal in orientation, you have a fake coin.

You also should check the second “7” for evidence of tooling, changing the last digit of the less valuable 1871, 1874 or 1879 so it appears like a “7.”

You can also do the balance test to see if your coin is a counterfeit. Genuine Indian Head cents have beleved edges and as such cannot stand balanced on its edge. Chinese fakes have flat squared edges. You can balance these.

Also many examples of contemporary counterfeits have a mushy or weakly struck “United States of America.” On genuine coins, this should be legible and crisp. In the image below, the left example is the counterfeit.

Keep in mind that Etsy and Temu sell replicas. Example:

These replicas have many of the same markers as authentic coins and often appear on eBay as authentic.

As a rule, be especially wary of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on raw 1877 cents if you do not know the markers or have doubts about them. Best to wait for your treasured key date graded by a top holdering company and sold on a legitimate site or shop.

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Identifying 1893-S Morgan Dollar

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Fake and replica 1893-S Morgan dollars abound as only 100,000 were minted with current values in multiples of thousands of dollars. This is a summary of markers so that you can identify this coveted key date.

This is the top 1893-S on the PCGS site at MS67. Look closely at the obverse and reverse, especially the date on the obverse and the mintmark on the reverse.

The basic test of any Morgan dollar is its weight: 26.73 grams and diameter of 38.1 millimeters. Any deviation is a fake.

The 1893-S was produced using a single obverse die and two reverse dies. In other words, any deviation of markers also signifies a counterfeit.

View the date. The “1” is squarely atop the fourth denticle (my illustration).

Another marker, difficult to see on worn dollars, is a faint line through the “T” in “Liberty.”

Because the reverse had two dies, they are numbered VAM-1 and VAM-2 according to the directory by Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis (hence, VAM after their names). The key marker is the mintmark. VAM-1 has a centered “S” and VAM-2 an “S” tilted slightly to the right.

Be careful if purchasing a 1893-S Morgan dollar. Run the above tests. Again, any deviation from the markers is a red flag for a counterfeit. China also exports counterfeits in fake PCGS holders. To learn more about that, see Jack D. Young’s “Counterfeit PCGS Morgan.”

If you like posts like this, subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

SCAM POSTS: 1982-D SMALL DATE 3.1 GRAM CENTS

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Here’s a challenge for all of you looking for the third example of the 1982-D Small Date 3.1 Gram Rarity. Go to eBay and search “1982-D Small Date 3.1 Grams.” Before you go, make sure you know the markers:

You also can refresh your memory by reading an entire article on those markers. Click here for that.

Also, here is background on mintages:

Variety NameCompositionWeightDate HubEstimated Mintage / Rarity
1982-D Large Date Copper95% Copper / 5% Zinc3.11 gramsLarge DateCommon (Estimated in the hundreds of millions)
1982-D Large Date ZincCopper-plated Zinc Core2.50 gramsLarge DateCommon (Estimated in the billions)
1982-D Small Date ZincCopper-plated Zinc Core2.50 gramsSmall DateCommon (Estimated in the billions)
1982-D Small Date Copper (Transitional Error)95% Copper / 5% Zinc3.11 gramsSmall DateExtremely Rare (Only 2 known examples exist)

Here are the first 20 of my search. Got tired, but could have found dozens if not hundreds more if I had all day.

IT’S 3.1 GRAMS: Take my Word for It!

1982 SMALL DATE, NO D, One of Billions!

I’M SO LUCKY I FOUND FIVE!

IF I BLUR THE PHOTO, MAYBE THEY WON’T KNOW IT’S ZINC!

IT’S THE UNHOLY GRAIL LARGE DATE!

LARGE DATE: NOT RARE!

LARGE DATE, SCRATCHED: NO COLLECTOR VALUE!

LARGE DATE, ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE!

LARGE DATE, CLEANED!

LARGE DATE: I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS BUT MAY BE VALUABLE!

NO ERROR, NOT RARE!

LARGE DATE BUT COIN APP SAYS RARE!

LARGE DATE WITH A MINTMARK, DUMMY!

IF I SAY SMALL DATE, WHO WOULD KNOW?

LARGE DATE, COMMON, BUT I WANT THOUSANDS!

LARGE DATE, ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE!

LARGE DATE, GRADED SO I WANT MONEY!

ANOTHER LARGE DATE, GRADED, SO I ALSO WANT MONEY!

I’VE STRUCK IT RICH … SO I’LL SCAM YOU BECAUSE YOU CAN’T TELL LARGE DATE FROM SMALL!

IF I SAY SMALL DATE, IT’S SMALL DATE … SO PAY ME!

You can continue searching for the third example of the 1982-D Small Date 3.1 Grams. There is a desperation about it because collectors in the past decade theorized you can find this in pocket change. Then social media hyped the rarity!

If you think you have found the unicorn, and are sure that you know the markers, odds are you’re wrong. If you send it in for grading at PCGS or NGC, and you found the third example–one found in 2016 and another in 2019–be prepared for the national media to come knocking on your door.

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You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

The Philadelphia Cent That Isn’t

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Every 1922 cent should carry the “D” mintmark from Denver, which was the only facility to produce cents in 1922. But accidents happen, and a mint employee over polished a working die, erasing the “D.”

The Denver Mint struck a total of 7,160,000 Lincoln cents that year. Due to a shortage of coin dies, Denver workers polished and reused damaged, clogged dies. That is how the mistake happened.

Coin collectors know that the Philadelphia Mint typically does not use a mintmark for coinage. So the missing mintmark has the appearance of being struck at Philly.

Only about 15,000 examples exist of the missing mintmark cent, a key date for collectors and a rarity, worth hundreds and even thousands of dollars, depending on the die pairs.

That’s why identifying the rarity is important. We’ll explore that here.

The 1922 Cent is categorized as follows:

  1. Standard 1922-D (Normal mint mark)
  2. 1922 “Weak D” (Faint, blurry, or partially filled mint mark)
  3. 1922 “No D” / Plain (Mint mark completely missing)

In addition, value is assessed by die pairs:

Die Pair #1 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse). Mushy or missing lines on wheat stalks.
Die Pair #2 (“No D” Strong Reverse). Clear lines on wheat stalks.
Die Pair #3 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse). The final “2” in the date is notably weaker than the first “2”.
Die Pair #4 (Weak D / No D – Weak Reverse): Very similar to pair 3 but typically even mushier.

Scammers find it easy to erase the “D” on a well-defined 1922-D normal mintmark coin. They do so by tooling or filling the area where the mintmark should be. Here’s a suspicioius example:

This is one occasion to use a coin microscope. Any deviation on the surface is suspect.

Also keep in mind that China mass produces replicas that dishonest sellers offer as authentic. Example:

As always, if you cannot distinguish die pairs, or are unsure, do not bid on or buy any unholdered coin.

As you might anticipate, die pair #2 values are expensive.

If you like posts like this, subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Ultra Rare 1953-S FBL

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A condition rarity is not associated with mintage but with other factors. Sometimes people neglected to save uncirculated examples, as in the 1884-S Morgan Dollar. The 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle had a good mintage of 180,000; but almost all were melted. The 1953-S Franklin half dollar had a mintage of 4,148,000 but suffers from poor strikes due to worn working dies. As such, it is extremely rare to find one with full bell lines. There just wasn’t enough pressure to create the unbroken lines on the liberty bell.

But can strive to find an example with at least some of the lines on the reverse.

Let’s define FBL. The designation requires fully separated, uninterrupted lines at the bottom of the Liberty Bell on the reverse. The lower sets of horizontal lines on the bell must be complete and distinct. To qualify, coins must grade MS-60 or higher, with no major disruptions to the lines, which also must be free from major cuts, heavy marks, or disturbances.

The horizontal lines must be clear and readable. Let’s take a close look this FBL example:

You can find many uncirculated Franklin halves with full bell lines. But the 1953-S is the key date. The dozens of 1953-S halves that earned FBL were struck early in the production run before the dies deteriorated.

While you may not find the ultra rare 1953-S FBL, you might have luck with other San Francisco business strike half dollars, as these also bring premiums.

The San Francisco Mint made half dollars in these years: 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954. Each one apart from the rare 1953-S brings a nice premium with FBL.

YEAR1949-S1951-S1952-S1953-S1954-S
MS65$130$70$125$125$50
MS65FBL$475$375$1,050$32,500$225

The San Francisco Mint stopped making half dollars in 1954 so that its machinery could be updated. But you can still assemble a set of 1949-54 halves for a reasonable price. The goal is to get the FBL on 1949-52 and 1954 and a 1953-S half with at least some of the full bell lines.

This PCGS slabbed MS65 1953-S Sold for $100 at Stack’s Bowers. I consider this a score because so many of the lines are evident, apart from the middle.

You can find some with some distinguishable lines on eBay, but they often are overpriced, as this example. I drew the red circle showing this is NOT Full Bell Lines.

You also want to watch what 1953-S half dollars sell for on major auction houses, including GreatCollections, which sold this gem in 2019.

Assembling a set of Franklin halves is easily doable. Try for as many full bell lines as your budget allows.

If you like posts like this, subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.