Does Every Year have a 1922 Plain??

[Mokiechan]

Some speculation after reading the new edition of Volume 1, Cherry Picker's Guide.

 

According to the Cherry Picker's Guide, there are three recognized version of the No D cent. Types 1 and 3 are probably the result of heavy die polishing or filled mintmark, Type 2 appears to truly be a coin that never had the mintmark stamped into the field. Now, the only reason this variety even exists is because 1922 was a year in which only Denver produced Lincoln Cents.

 

But, and its a big but, this sort of scenario could theoretically exist ANY year since the SF or D mints could have just as easily over-polished their dies, filled their mintmarks with gunk, or simply minted coins with mintmark free obverses.

 

OF course since Philadelphia has always produced Lincolns in every other year, The no-mintmark varieties from the SF and D mint will forever be hidden from our concsciousness.

 

See more journals by Beaw

[coinsbygary]

Unless...certain diagnostics are discovered that will give it away. Otherwise, just as with the "Tootsie Pops" of years ago, "the world may never know". However it is always fun to speculate and that is was cherry picking is, finding the coin everyone else missed!

Gary

[Coin Trader]

Indeed, this scenario likely exists in other years and other denominations.

 

As an example, I have a "date run" of 'no mint-mark' Washington Quarters from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, including a couple of 1989 coins slabbed as "No P" (one in ANACS plastic and another in a PCCI photo-slab). The 1989 coins received wide publicity in hobby circles at the time (including an article in Coin World), until it was determined that the missing mint-marks were likely the result of grease filled dies.

 

As an aside, I've also seen "IN GOD WE RUST" mottos, and three-digit dates, such as 198 or 991 due to grease filled dies, so the grease filled mint-marks would seem to be a not-rare occurance.

 

 

[Mokiechan]

Indeed, this scenario likely exists in other years and other den........

 

As an aside, I've also seen "IN GOD WE RUST" mottos, and three-digit dates, such as 198 or 991 due to grease filled dies, so the grease filled mint-marks would seem to be a not-rare occurance.

 

 

Thanks for your comments, BTW love your Eliasberg collection, a really great idea.

Cheers

Malcolm

[James_OldeTowne]

There are numerous coins known to have been struck from dies that "lost" their mintmarks. I think an even better example than the 1922 "plain" is the 1911-D quarter eagle. In that case, provided you can afford to buy enough examples , you can clearly see the progression from a fairly well formed mintmark, through mushy ones, all the way down to coins that have no hint whatsoever of a "D". However, the coins can virtually always be authenticated by other diagnostics.

 

Some Seated Liberty dimes of the 1860s have this same situation, and there are quite a few other examples throughout U.S. series.