GBrad

Thanks Jason for the info. I am an avid Lincoln collector and do not delve into the realm of older copper that you and some others are very interested in. Maybe one day I will. Pretty much everything I search through, and own, is circulated raw. I like Linc. varieties and sometimes there is just a need to spruce one up and make one look a little better as long as it's not a Major Variety. Obviously, Reds for the most part bring higher premiums in the Linc series regardless of the year, mint, condition, or whether or not it is a variety, etc.... A good Red Linc. I wouldn't see any need at all to mess with. Thanks again.

Sorry for the wording in my reply to your post as show above. I did not mean to confuse you. The Philly Mint HAS been producing Lincoln Cents since 1909. What I meant to say was that the only year that Philly placed a P mm on a Lincoln was in 2017 which is a Shied Cent. Any other Linc’s you come across without a mm were struck in Philly. Hope this clarifies things.

Hey RWB. Thank you for the reply. Good info on cosmoline and I knew it had some type of lubricating properties but would never use it on a coin. Definitely don’t use it on any salads either!!😁 I don’t have any friends of such that have any coins preserved in anything. Heck…. I don’t have many friends at all for the most part… I was referring to, in my original opening post, that I had seen some pics of other collectors coins that looked to have a very clean look to them even though their Lincs are relatively old coins . I was really inquiring about VersaCare and if anyone has had any experience with this product or any other products at all. I’ve seen it discussed numerous times in posts elsewhere but was curious about this product. Or basically I take that nothing should be applied long term to a copper coin. Understood if so. Thanks.

Thanks Coinbuf. I actually have a bunch of bottles of exact military grade and spec gun oil I purchased awhile ago. Still in the small green bottles intended for field use for our Troops. It’s not what is referred to as “cosmoline” which most all new firearms come coated in to person_having_a_hard_time_understanding_my_point rust and repel water even though I believe that particular compound does have copper ingredients and/or properties which you can actually see the minuscule copper particles of in the mixture which act as a lubricant. I think I’m going to start doing some experiments for myself to test out some things like in this topic. Obviously, I wouldn’t use any coin of value. I think it would be interesting to do some legit testing, over an extended period of time, and if for nothing else, to satisfy my curiosities. Thanks.

Speaking of 8 tracks...... OMGOSH!!! You just brought up some very old memories of my Dad and I driving around in his brand new Ford F-100, yes the full size pickup truck back in the 60's and 70's, listening to this song. GREAT Times!!!!! P.S.- Sorry Geno g..... I had no intentions on hijacking your thread (which it appears I have...), my apologies! The previous comments thus far on this thread just led me to fond memories of me and my late father. Look forward to hearing back from you regarding your original coin post.

No Bill.... I think your 1909 is very nice! I wish I had it!! I don't think it's been whizzed. Just went back and looked at your coin on J.P's thread. The fields look too good with a very slight grainy/undulating texture and appearance which wouldn't be indicative of a polished or whizzed coin (I don't think). The color looks good too, not shiny best I can tell, and what looks like a few carbon spots I would think would not be there either. Not an expert here but just my take.

Question: I visit some other forums on occasion just to see what's going on in other collector's lives but I still consider NGC as my home. I've noticed one in-particular individual on another site (I'll refrain from using their name here) that has found umpteen beautiful coins, mostly Lincoln Copper varieties, and the guy has excellent photography skills and a great setup. His coins are predominantly LWC's and they are all found in the wild for the most part it appears from what I've seen. However, he HAS to be putting something on his coins that give them a brilliant appearance and a slight sheen....making them look extremely better in appearance than when he first found them I'm sure. Anyone know what this may be and would be a good product to preserve Copper? I haven't asked this guy because I don't really want to participate there and would have to set up an account to do so. I'm thinking maybe it's VersaCare? I've never used VersaCare before, only used extra virgin olive oil to remove gunk on some Lincolns and I'm not sure about leaving it on one permanently, but even the olive oil makes an old Linc. come back to life. It does work well for removing buildup that a pure acetone bath doesn't work. Especially while using olive oil with a very soft and pointed piece of wood like a toothpick or better yet a rose bush thorn (thanks to James Z. for that advice) Any input? Thanks!

Actually going to post this as a question in its individual thread. But, please answer here if you'd like and know anything about what I'm talking about. Thanks!

YUP! That's the way we roll up here in the mountains! Kinda like "Deliverance".... I hear Banjos..... Seriously though, here's a funny but true story. Back when this junk first went AWOL and turned into a pandemic, no one could find the first bottle of any type of Isopropyl Alcohol anywhere because people panicked and cleaned out the stores. I got an idea and went to my local liquor store. I'm sure we all know what Golden Grain and Everclear is..... 190 proof straight ethyl alcohol.... so I buy two gallons of Golden Grain (wanted the plastic bottles and not the glass bottles Everclear comes in) and tell the store owner what I was using it for. He said, "Great idea.... that stuff should kill anything you put it on or "IN"... including yourself!" I LMBO..... I went through the stuff pretty quick over about a two week period as a sanitizer for everything. I told a good friend about it who then blew up Facebook (which I don't ever use) with my new idea. Yes....I did try a little bit and GOOD LAWD!!!! I have no idea how I drank Hunch Punch back in College...Yuck!! So I go back to the liquor store to buy more and this time a different store employee says he's completely out of both Golden and Everclear. He said he saw some FB post about "a dude" using it as sanitizer and further told me they sold out of the 20+ cases he had of the stuff in their inventory in about 2 days! WOW.... I guess little ol' me I made an impact. Shortly thereafter, the CDC recognized that yes... Everclear ...was an effective means of killing the COVID virus. I feel jaded somehow in the aspect that I should have made millions off of my idea.....

Uh..... In 1969..... I was referring to 'this' year meaning 1969.... not 'those' years meaning the 60's..... but I love your humor JT2!!!!!

That's the thing about this crazy bug. Even a vaccinated person, who has contracted COVID, can still transmit it to others vaccinated or not. It's kinda darned if you do....darned if you don't. I'm not sure of the answer and I don't think the CDC and medical Community are either, just MHO. I just take as much precaution as possible, (yes) I chose to wear a mask when in public areas especially during close encounters, and I carry a bottle of 90% alcohol with me just about everywhere I go (making sure it doesn't touch a coin obviously...... But, I have a major health condition (which some of you are familiar with) and I chose to err on the side of caution.

Question: I visit other forums on occasion just to see what's going on in other areas. I've noticed one in particular individual on another site (I'll refrain from saying their name) that has found umpteen beautiful coins, mostly varieties, and the guy has excellent photography skills and a great setup. His coins are predominantly LWC's and they are all found in the wild for the most part. However, he HAS to be putting something on his coins that give them a brilliant appearance and sheen....making them look extremely better in appearance than when he found them I'm sure. Anyone know what this may be? I haven't asked this guy because I don't really want to participate there and have to set up an account. I'm thinking maybe Versacare? I've never used the stuff before, only used extra virgin olive oil to remove gunk on some Lincolns, but even the olive oil makes an old Linc. come back to life. Any input? Thanks!

Great minds think alike......

I "liked" your post above @VKurtBbecause of the humor. I am however, sorry and saddened that several dealers tested positive for this (BEEEEEP....) COVID !

J.P......Where are you finding all these decent, and some very nice, coins you continually post up???? I'm going to start following you around! Coin dealers and coin shops around my neck of the woods are pretty much non existent. Of course I do live in the hills of North Georgia so that may be a contributing factor. I'm lucky to have cell phone service at any given point in time. Some days I have to climb to the top of my telephone pole just to make a phone call! (Green Acres..... remember?) I may need to secretly spy on you and some of the other folks on here to see where y'all are going to obtain your coins (just kidding)...... haha. Finally have a good coin show here in Dalton, GA this weekend I plan on attending. Best thing to come this way all year long so maybe I'll get lucky there. Also hoping VKurtB is gonna be there whom I'd like the pleasure of meeting. Haven't made up my mind if I'm gonna shake his hand..... give him a hug (probably not due to COVID...) or just plain out slap him...... (that way he will never forget me...)

CLM= Collector's Lives Matter.....

Hey J.P..... don't give up, ALL CLM!

James..... you just showed your age...... but, I'm not very far behind ya my friend!

Edit--- double post.... my computer, or maybe it's me, is doing some crazy things today. I may have had too many tabs open.....

There's not even a recognized doubled die for this year.....sad...very sad.... (I love doubled dies)

Very sad.... you train your entire life... win a coveted Olympic 'gold' medal.... and it is basically all a lie......go figure... such is life (I like the old saying, "Life Sucks and Then You Die") Not really but I thought I would throw that in. I do agree about the teeth test. Just goes to show how mainstream media has, and continues to, affect our society. I wonder how much the athletes got paid to 'bite' the medal (which is friggin stupid because they just worked their ARSE off their entire life to win a medal....)? I hope it broke their teeth in the process. What's funny is that the actual bullion price between an Olympic gold and silver medal is borderline negligible .....lol....

Welcome to the forum Robert. Have you calibrated your new scale? Does it weigh out to Hundredths such as 0.00? The Lincoln Cent is one of the lightest coins the U.S. Mint ever produced. In this day and time you will probably find MANY more Lincoln Cents weighing in the 2.4 to 2.7 range because of the new (since 1982) Zinc cored Lincoln Cents. Those made prior to 1982 (and even some in 1982, which was the transitional year for the metal composition of the Lincoln Cent) will be made of predominantly copper which will weigh in the 3.11 gram range. It makes perfect sense that you have seen less than 5 pennies weighing 3.11 grams out of hundreds because copper Cents are a thing of the past, unfortunately. Your 1990 Cent is not supposed to have a mint mark. The only Lincoln Cent ever produced with a Philly (P) mint mark was in 2017. Your 1990 Cent is what is referred to as a Zincoln Cent because it is predominately made of zinc as explained above. Make sure your scale is calibrated correctly and then weigh your coins. This is the best advice I can give.

Thanks but Ya know what?…. I wrote that eye discrepancy off to PMD and ED. HOWEVER….. you made me look at it more closely, something caught my eye (no pun intended) and now I see a major discrepancy. Look at LIBERTY on the headband. The spacing of the letters are completely off and something I did not realize or catch previously. The wide spacing of L I B and the close spacing of ERTY is no doubt way off. Thanks for the reply. You further educated me (in a roundabout manner) what to possibly look for on a fake.

Thank you very much Rick621, I appreciate that. I just wanted to do an in-depth comparison on the OP's coin vs. a graded and certified IHC in which to hopefully get some feedback about my research and observations. I obviously don't have the tools or bank of knowledge as do many other members (and NGC Directors) have here but I tried to do the best I could with what I had. I wasn't saying it was the real deal, just looked into it a bit deeper and I really enjoyed doing so. Thanks.