How rare is my 1969-D Lincoln Memorial Penny and how much could it be worth? 1 1

[Patience t bump]

Earlier this week, while getting a few rolls of pennies from my local bank, I stumbled across what I thought at first was a normal 1969-D Lincoln Memorial Penny. That was until I took a look at it's reverse side and found something extraordinary. Immediately I noticed the building's "floating roof" error but upon further inspection, I discovered the initials "FG" are missing. Can anyone tell me how rare this coin is and how much it's worth?

[Just Bob]

Welcome to the forum.

While Ebay and Etsy sellers refer to these as "errors," they are actually the result of over-polishing of the die, which makes them "die states" or "varieties." A real error is usually a one of a kind (or just a few) occurrence, while every coin minted from the time this particular die was polished until it was retired would have this same appearance. They are not rare. A quick check of Ebay shows that these have been selling for around $3 - $5 on average, including shipping. (There are actually two sales of the same coin for $900 and $1200, but I guarantee you that these were some shyster shill-bidding his own coin to try to create a false impression of value. Fortunately, no one fell for the scam.) I predict that when the novelty for these wears off, they will be worth face value or slightly more.

It is an interesting find, and one worth keeping, but it is not rare or extremely valuable. 

[Greenstang]

Welcome to the forum.

What Just Bob said plus the fact they are no longer being recognized by the graders as they are not really
an error and are too common.  
Theoretically they can appear on any year memorial cent so the year should not really matter. 

[Coinbuf]

Welcome to the forum, I'm afraid you have been misinformed or mislead about what is rare or valuable.  I've been collecting Lincoln cents for 40+ years and I wouldn't pay anything more than face for your coin.  What Bob wrote above is correct, the mint extends the life of dies by reconditioning and polishing them.  That can result in some loss of fine details like the roof uprights.   The missing initials could be from that or a filled die due to grease.

Neither of these things is rare or valuable, unfortunately less scrupulous types of dealers and collectors have hyped these as something of importance and equally unfortunate is that newer collectors have at times bought into the hype.

As a result you might be able to sell this coin on sites like eBay or social media for a few bucks assuming you can sleep at night doing so.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Coinbuf

[EagleRJO]

On 7/20/2023 at 12:23 PM, Coinbuf said:

As a result you might be able to sell this coin on sites like eBay or social media for a few bucks assuming you can sleep at night doing so.

Since you have been collecting cents for so long you have probably seen this floating roof cent numerous times, so it's not worth anything extra.  But to a newer collector who has not encountered one yet and would like to have one I don't think selling one to them for a few bucks is really out of line.

[Coinbuf]

On 7/20/2023 at 1:35 PM, EagleRJO said:

Since you have been collecting cents for so long you have probably seen this floating roof cent numerous times, so it's not worth anything extra.  But to a newer collector who has not encountered one yet and would like to have one I don't think selling one to them for a few bucks is really out of line.

Everyone has to decide for themselves what price to put on whatever ethics and morals they may have.  Personally I  put a higher value than a few bucks on mine, but I think I'm more the anomaly than the norm in today's world.   

[J P M]

I have a bunch of these and it is not just 1969 there are many years of worn out dies.

[EagleRJO]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:45 PM, Coinbuf said:

Everyone has to decide for themselves what price to put on whatever ethics and morals they may have.  Personally I  put a higher value than a few bucks on mine, but I think I'm more the anomaly than the norm in today's world.   

I agree that ethics and morals should be placed above all else.  However, it seems we will have to just agree to disagree that selling a floating roof cent for a few bucks, as noted by Bob from recent sales, compromises that.

https://coins.thefuntimesguide.com/floating-roof-penny-value/?expand_article=1

Now selling something like that as more than just a novelty worth a few bucks, let alone as an extraordinary error or something worth anywhere near the $900 mentioned, is a different story.

Edited July 21, 2023 by EagleRJO

[VKurtB]

Wowser's! What evil happened to the OP's cardboard 2x2? Did a cat bite it out?

[Mike Meenderink]

The floating roof no FG die variety is only worth $10.00 in MS RD condition on the market. The coin you show here is worth 1c. 

[GoldFinger1969]

It's the only one of it's kind known to man and is worth $30,000,000. 

Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

[EagleRJO]

On 7/22/2023 at 12:56 AM, VKurtB said:

Wowser's! What evil happened to the OP's cardboard 2x2? Did a cat bite it out?

Looks like a home brewed hack job

[VKurtB]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:40 PM, EagleRJO said:

Looks like a home brewed hack job

Cardboard from professionally laundered shirts and Saran Wrap? What?