Please help - are these two 1972 Lincoln pennies special ? Does anybody know ! 2 2

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

Please help - are these two 1972 Lincoln pennies special ?  Does anybody know more about them ? Thanks for your help. Your answer is appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.

a hobby collector from Switzerland

[Coinbuf]

No, these were counter stamped after they left the mint by someone or some organization to commemorate an event.   I have not seen either of these two types of counterstamps so I cannot comment on who stamped them or why.   Having said that there are collectors that like to collect counterstamped coins like this so they may be worth a couple of bucks to the right person.

Welcome to the forum!

Edited July 15, 2022 by Coinbuf

[RWB]

No. They are simply mutilated with a silly design punch. These were sold to the gullible as "collectibles."

[EagleRJO]

On 7/15/2022 at 2:22 PM, RWB said:

No. They are simply mutilated with a silly design punch. These were sold to the gullible as "collectibles."

Can you legally punch US coins with an after-mint mark?  I thought you were not supposed to do that.

[DWLange]

Technically, it is a crime to mutilate USA coins, but no one in government is going to investigate the conversion of cents into novelty pieces. Since they already cost more than one cent to make in the first place, why would anyone spend good money after bad trying to protect them?

[Sandon]

   Probably the most popular of these novelty counterstamps from the 1970s was "Kennedy looks at Lincoln", where a small left facing head of JFK was punched into the field facing Lincoln's face. I frequently saw these offered for sale in souvenir shops in tourist areas where I went on vacation with my parents when I was a teenager.   As I recall, the counterstamped coin was accompanied by a card providing trivia about the two presidents, such as that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, while Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.  I knew that these novelty coins were worthless even back then, but I'm sure that thousands were sold!

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

On 7/15/2022 at 7:37 PM, Coinbuf said:

No, these were counter stamped after they left the mint by someone or some organization to commemorate an event.   I have not seen either of these two types of counterstamps so I cannot comment on who stamped them or why.   Having said that there are collectors that like to collect counterstamped coins like this so they may be worth a couple of bucks to the right person.

Welcome to the forum!

Hello Coinbuf

Thank you for your valuable feedback. I greatly appreciate it.

Have a wonderful day!

Kind regards,

Joko

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

On 7/15/2022 at 8:22 PM, RWB said:

No. They are simply mutilated with a silly design punch. These were sold to the gullible as "collectibles."

Thank you for your valuable feedback. I greatly appreciate it. Kind regards, Joko

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

On 7/16/2022 at 12:08 AM, Sandon said:

   Probably the most popular of these novelty counterstamps from the 1970s was "Kennedy looks at Lincoln", where a small left facing head of JFK was punched into the field facing Lincoln's face. I frequently saw these offered for sale in souvenir shops in tourist areas where I went on vacation with my parents when I was a teenager.   As I recall, the counterstamped coin was accompanied by a card providing trivia about the two presidents, such as that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, while Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.  I knew that these novelty coins were worthless even back then, but I'm sure that thousands were sold!

Hello Sandon Thank you for your valuable feedback. I greatly appreciate it.

Have a wonderful day!

Kind regards, Joko

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:41 PM, DWLange said:

Technically, it is a crime to mutilate USA coins, but no one in government is going to investigate the conversion of cents into novelty pieces. Since they already cost more than one cent to make in the first place, why would anyone spend good money after bad trying to protect them?

Hello Thank you for your valuable feedback. 

Have a wonderful day!

Kind regards,

Joko

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:25 PM, EagleRJO said:

Can you legally punch US coins with an after-mint mark?  I thought you were not supposed to do that.

Hello Thank you for your valuable feedback. 

Have a wonderful day!

Kind regards,

Joko

[EagleRJO]

On 7/15/2022 at 3:41 PM, DWLange said:

Technically, it is a crime to mutilate USA coins, but no one in government is going to investigate the conversion of cents into novelty pieces. Since they already cost more than one cent to make in the first place, why would anyone spend good money after bad trying to protect them?

I'm not suggesting that heavily geared US Treasury agents wielding full-auto HK416s should/could rope in at 2 am to confiscate your illegally post-mint stamped pennys, I'm just pointing something out ... 😉

[Conder101]

It isn't illegal to mutilate US coins unless done with the intent to defraud.  (You also can't legally melt cents and none silver five cent pieces)

The two conterstamps are merely novelty pieces, the first is simply to appeal to someone who likes American football.  The second is part of a group of counterstamped cents made (privately) to commemorate the Apollo missions.  The one shown marks the landing date of Apollo 12 on the Moon. 11/19/1969

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

On 7/19/2022 at 5:02 PM, Conder101 said:

It isn't illegal to mutilate US coins unless done with the intent to defraud.  (You also can't legally melt cents and none silver five cent pieces)

The two conterstamps are merely novelty pieces, the first is simply to appeal to someone who likes American football.  The second is part of a group of counterstamped cents made (privately) to commemorate the Apollo missions.  The one shown marks the landing date of Apollo 12 on the Moon. 11/19/1969

Hello Thank you for your valuable feedback. 

Have a wonderful day!

Kind regards,

Joko

[KarenHolcomb]

On 7/15/2022 at 6:08 PM, Sandon said:

   Probably the most popular of these novelty counterstamps from the 1970s was "Kennedy looks at Lincoln", where a small left facing head of JFK was punched into the field facing Lincoln's face. I frequently saw these offered for sale in souvenir shops in tourist areas where I went on vacation with my parents when I was a teenager.   As I recall, the counterstamped coin was accompanied by a card providing trivia about the two presidents, such as that Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy, while Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.  I knew that these novelty coins were worthless even back then, but I'm sure that thousands were sold!

A little worse for wear, but there they are. I haven't looked at and read these for years. Thanks. 

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

Hello dear Karen, thanks a lot for your valuable feedback. I really appreciate that you took your time to give me this valuable info. It is very interesting to know more about this topic. Thanks a lot and have a great day. Kind regards, Joko

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

On 7/30/2022 at 10:09 PM, KarenHolcomb said:

A little worse for wear, but there they are. I haven't looked at and read these for years. Thanks. 

 

[Gallery Made-in-Nature Switzerland]

Hello dear Karen, thanks a lot for your valuable feedback. I really appreciate that you took your time to give me this valuable info. It is very interesting to know more about this topic. Thanks a lot and have a great day. Kind regards, Joko