197 ? Lincoln. 1C 1 1

[bobbyboshay]

Edited August 16 by bobbyboshay

[Reno Raines]

The last digit in the date looks like a filed down 2 to me which means you have a 1972 D Lincoln cent in my opinion and not any kind or type of mint error. The coin is only worth it's face value of one cent.

[Sandon]

   I'm not sure that this coin is damaged, as the "1" and top of the "9" are weak. This could be the result of foreign matter filling these portions of the die.

[powermad5000]

The only problem with this situation is from the collectability standpoint. If it were to be a legitimate mint error, it is A - not MS uncirculated red, and B - if it were to be certified, when NGC cannot easily determine the date, it would be slabbed as a 197X D Lincoln.

I do know from owning, buying, and selling some errors, collectors only pay premium when the date is known. Unless it is a colossal error that caused the date to be illegible, error collectors want to be able to read the date. You would lose money having this coin graded and subsequently trying to sell it.

[edhalbrook]

Wouldn't this coin be worth 2.5  cents? It is copper. If it's a 1971 or a 1979 it's still copper. .024053 each Copper went up today to 3.6924 a lb

[Sandon]

On 8/16/2023 at 12:00 AM, edhalbrook said:

Wouldn't this coin be worth 2.5  cents? It is copper.

   It is illegal to melt them. Therefore, there is no legitimate buyer for them at above face value, other than collectors.

[Reno Raines]

If you zoom in you'll barely see a trace of a "2" as the last digit of the date.

[Hoghead515]

On 8/16/2023 at 1:21 AM, Reno Raines said:

If you zoom in you'll barely see a trace of a "2" as the last digit of the date.

I see it too

[J P M]

It looks like a worn die and then it got some grease stuck in the 1 , 9 and 2 on the date. It is worth keeping it in a flip as a grease filled die coin but not grading. The coin has to much damage for a good grade.

[edhalbrook]

But it's the same as keeping silver. I'm not going to melt my junk silver but I keep it anyways for the metal value. I do the same for pre 1982 pennies. I'm sure not going to melt those down but copper keeps going up.  

[VKurtB]

It was made by an incredibly prescient society who “knew” about Abraham Lincoln in 197 AD. As you can see, the A in AD is also “missing”. The use of a guy named Abraham hints at a Middle Eastern origin.

[EagleRJO]

On 8/16/2023 at 6:20 PM, VKurtB said:

It was made ... in 197 AD.

Wow, a Lincoln Memorial cent that's almost 2,000 years old struck by time travelers ... that would be worth a fortune.