Just Bob

The reason the "C" and "E" of "CENT" look normal is because they are upside down. You can tell that the "N" is backwards, though, because that letter doesn't look the same upside down as it does right side up. Hold the reverse of a memorial cent upside down, and then imagine what it would look like if you could see through it from the other side, or imagine what design a piece of clay would show if the coin were pressed into it upside down. It would match the lettering on the OP's coin.

Excellent! Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Very interesting circulation find.

I don’t know if you have the time or the inclination to do it, but a picture montage showing the progression of the crack from the earliest stage to the latest would make for a very interesting thread.

That’s the guy. The fields on his Morgan’s always look almost black, with that orange streak through them.

Is this the same guy that juices the pictures of his Morgan’s to the point that they look almost like a painting of a coin?

Are you saying that you found over 100 coins showing various stages of the same die crack?

Dryer coin or spooned coin. Not a mint error. Welcome to the forum.

Board member "Coinsarefun" has an example of this token .

It's nice to see a '43 that doesn't look like it's been stripped and replated. Would you mind showing a picture of the edge?

Thanks. I'm always on the hunt for new reference material. I was hoping to pick up a few lots in the recent Heritage auction of Eric P. Newman's personal papers and research, but the lots that I was interested in went for very strong money. Hopefully we'll see some accurate and informative articles and books come out of all of this research material that is now in different hands.

Sad to say, I'm not familiar with these auctions. Can you post a link?

Screenshot posted. Saved for posterity.

Looks XF, judging from the photos. If the lack of detail I see is from strike weakness or is just a figment of my imagination, and the coin is MS, I don't think it will grade above 64. I can see enough dings on the rims to keep it from going any higher.

I'm done. I tried. Good luck.

Not an error. Just a stamp that someone applied after it entered circulation.

You are correct that most of these business strike nickels have a thin, sharp or somewhat rounded rim when they are uncirculated, but, if you look at nickels (or pictures of nickels) that are very worn, like your coin, you will find that many of them have rims that have been worn flat and have a square appearance the same as your coin. If you submit this coin to NGC for authenticating as something special, it is going to be another expensive lesson (hopefully) learned.

(I couldn't figure out how to get rid of the two crying emojis when quoting your previous post, so that is why they are still there.) I see what you are talking about with the right leg of the "A." That is likely the result of either die erosion - something that we might be able to determine if we had a clear picture of the entire reverse - or a tiny die chip. Either could cause the misshapen end of the letter.

OP, would you please explain what you mean by "pooling of die?" Your coin is definitely not a "close AM," by the way. The gap between the letters is too wide, and the position of the designer's initials and shape of the "G" are unmistakable indicators of a "wide AM" variety.

63, 64, 63, 64

That was my hairstyle when I was a kid. With a pompadour in front. Of course, that was when I had enough hair for a pompadour. (Not my picture. Just one I grabbed from the web.)

Unless your goal is to participate in the NGC registry, or you plan to sell, and think the value might be enhanced by having them graded, my suggestion would be to enjoy your coins "raw." I have a fair-sized collection myself, and the only certified coins that I own that are coins that were encapsulated when I bought them. I have never actually sent a coin in to be graded, and there are others on this forum like me.

As you probably know, these coins were minted on planchets that were made of zinc- coated steel. Zinc and steel both oxidize in an unsightly manner, especially after having been in circulation. Many thousands of these coins were stripped of their zinc coating and replated by aftermarketers to make them appear shiny. Their feeling was that this would make the coins easier to sell to the general public. They were often sold in three coins sets, one from each mint. They were often found in souvenir shops and mail order catalogs. The reprocessing of these coins removes any numismatic value they may have. That's why you were told your coin is only worth face value. Your coin was likely plated several years before the elderly woman obtained it. There is an easy way to tell if your coin has been plated. Look at the edge. If it's smooth like the surface of the coin, it has been plated. if there is a dull look too it, it's original, but has obviously been polished. Either way, its numismatic value has been removed. It's only worth one cent. It might not be a bad idea to do a bit of research on these before you reject advice from knowledgeable collectors.

Nice coin