REQUESTING HELP TO VERIFY IF COINS ARE GENUINE ERROR COINS 1 1

[JJensen1000]

Hello all, 

I am new to this forum, so apologies for any mistakes in creating this topic. 

My goal here is to gather some help in identifying errors that I believe may be true error coins. In addition to this, if what is thought to be an error turns out not to be, any help or tips when searching for errors and what to look past would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to comments, help and don't mind other users being up front with their responses as I am sure those kinds of replys will come with this kind of topic. Thank you in advance everyone. 

This one is a 1992 D Lincoln Memorial cent with some sort of strange lump between the "A" and "T" on the word STATES on the reverse. Help itentifying what that might be would be amazing. 

I tried to scrape it off with my finger nail but had no success. Under the microscope, it does look to have a copper tone to it, hence the reason I thought it may be an error. 

I would have posted the microscope photos but I can't get a full coin shot and read that you can't post partial coin photos on the forums. 

[Greenstang]

Not an error, that is a plating bubble.

If you want to see what real errors are, study how coins are minted because it is only an error if it happens during the striking of the coin and also go to a sight like error- ref.com and study that forum.  
You can post partial photos as long as a complete photo accompanies it.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Greenstang

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

   Your 1992-D Lincoln cent does not exhibit a mint error. The small raised area on the reverse of the coin between "A" and "T" is either an area of raised corrosion or a plating bubble. All cents made since 1983 (and some dated 1982) are composed of copper plated zinc, which is highly subject to corrosion when it comes in contact with many substances in the environment. Note the green compound that has also formed on the upper reverse.  Additionally, such cents of this composition made between 1982 and the mid-1990s were prone to have small bubbles that formed between the zinc core and the copper plating. These bubbles are extremely common and are regarded as examples of poor quality control, not as mint errors. Your coin also appears to exhibit a raised area resulting from a die chip in Lincoln's hair, but this is also considered to indicate poor quality control and is not regarded as a mint error or worth any premium to knowledgeable collectors.

   Contrary to what you may have seen on non-numismatic sites such as YouTube, coins exhibiting significant mint errors rarely turn up in circulation. I've been collecting and looking through change for the past 52 years, and the only legitimate error coins I've found are a couple of "broadstruck" quarters and a blank cent planchet, each worth only a few dollars each.  

   Before looking at the error-ref.com site referred to by @Greenstang, you may want to review the following introductory articles about mint errors on the NGC website:

Variety vs. Mint Error | NGC (ngccoin.com)

Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 1 | NGC (ngccoin.com)

Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 2 | NGC (ngccoin.com)

Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 3 | NGC (ngccoin.com)

  If you are new to collecting U.S. coins generally, you would also benefit from the following topics on this forum:

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by Sandon
correct typo

[J P M]

Welcome...I agree with Greenstang and Sandon . The 1983 zinc cents and on are full of imperfections, but these are not errors most of the time. The more you search the more you will see them.   

Edited May 14, 2023 by J P M

[Jason Abshier]

Finding true error coins is like chasing a ghost … you can look at thousands of rolls of coins and find little imperfections from coin to coin it’s not worth anything at all nor is it a true error coin … YouTube is full of misguided videos made by some person who has no knowledge of error coins nor coin collecting what so ever …

Todays Modern minting technology and machinery basically prevents errors we know or talk about in older classic coinage (but most of that stuff been cherry picked and found a long time ago by error collectors) …Modern coinage you’ll see a slight machine doubling not even an error nor worth anything but pretty common on Modern coinage it’s within the minting process Specs and tolerances 

[GoldFinger1969]

I'm gonna run a pool on these forums with an Over/Under on how many times Sandon has to clarify some misguided coin belief and post his links like he does above !! 

[powermad5000]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:17 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I'm gonna run a pool on these forums with an Over/Under on how many times Sandon has to clarify some misguided coin belief and post his links like he does above !! 

With all the YouTube coin experts out there nowadays, I'll take the over 

The OP's coin is suffering from some mild environmental damage. I am thinking the plating was bubbled after the coin was struck and before the environment got to the reverse. For the OP, there are still tons of these cents in circulation from 1983 on which you will see various levels of the plating over zinc which has bubbled up, cracked, pock marked, pocketed, or in some extreme cases has partially fallen off. None of these conditions meet the criteria for a mint error.

As for finding errors in change, I have in my 45+ years of collecting have found no circulating error coins in pocket change coins pre 2000. I have found three post 2000 struck through errors (of course submitted by me and certified as errors by NGC). That said, however, I know the difference between physical damage and an actual struck through coin. Three may sound like a lot but they are not common to find in cash register change (I welcome coins in change and I inspect both sides of every coin that passes through my hands before they get thrown back into the wild). What always astounds me is the number of sellers and the ridiculous quantity of supposed "error" coins for sale on eBay that simply are just NOT errors at all, and are being sold by sellers who either have simply no knowledge whatsoever of numismatics even in the most general sense, or who are sellers who have decided to take extreme full advantage of new collectors trying to enter the hobby with their limited knowledge and will simply get robbed blind by these unscrupulous sellers.

[EagleRJO]

On 5/13/2023 at 10:17 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I'm gonna run a pool on these forums with an Over/Under on how many times Sandon has to clarify some misguided coin belief and post his links like he does above !! 

I think he figured out copy and paste

[RonnieR131]

 Sandon is an amazing info machine. Goldfinger, I'm betting the 'over', 5 1/2 years. Patient, dedicated, relentless.

[EagleRJO]

On 5/16/2023 at 12:03 PM, RonnieR131 said:

Sandon is an amazing info machine

We are lucky to have @Sandon on the board.  Truly a wealth of knowledge picked up from collecting for over 50 years.  He has been a tremendous help to me when I was first looking into Morgans, and continues to help me, as well as countless others.  And now, It is really invaluable for me to have a sounding board like him, @Coinbuf, @RWB, @J P M, @JKK, @Just Bob and others here.  

About Sandon's newbie replies, I think he has his road rash "error" posts down pat (attached), and just fills in the "Bla, Bla, Bla".   

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Edited May 17, 2023 by EagleRJO