PolarAce Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Newbie here. I picked up a number of proof sets from a local pawn shop last week. I was browsing through them and found this 1983 set with a distinct mark across Lincoln's face. I've tried doing research and have found everything from error, to cracked die, to delaminating copper. Can anyone let me know what this is most likely? In a proof set, is it worth anything extra? Thanks in advance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dprince1138 Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 It certainly seems like a cracked die. Sandon, powermad5000 and Newenglandrarities 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandon Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 (edited) Welcome to the NGC chat board. The raised area on the cent in your 1983 is a defect in the copper plating. As you may know, the copper plated zinc cent was introduced in the latter part of 1982, and it took the mint's contractors who supply the planchets (coin blanks) some years to perfect the process, resulting in many of the cents dated from 1982 to at least the early 1990s having such defects, even proofs. Such defects are considered poor quality control rather than mint errors. They do not give the affected coin a premium value and are usually a negative factor, not a positive one. They will not be attributed by grading services such as NGC. For more information, see https://www.error-ref.com/?s=plating+blister This is definitely not a die crack! Edited November 22, 2023 by Sandon added to respond to previous poster, who, as usual, is mistaken. ldhair and Coinbuf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolarAce Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 Thank you for the background information and details. I appreciate it. Newenglandrarities 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 On 11/22/2023 at 3:45 PM, dprince1138 said: It certainly seems like a cracked die. This is misinformation from a member that knows nothing about coins, please disregard. I am in agreement with what Sandon wrote, your coin looks to have a long linear plating bubble. The mint did and still does experience plating bubble issues with the zinc core copper plated Lincolns minted from 1982 to current. Newenglandrarities 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dprince1138 Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 EagleRJO, powermad5000 and Newenglandrarities 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 On 11/22/2023 at 4:38 PM, dprince1138 said: Again, please disregard this, there is no correlation between a die crack on an 18th century silver coin and linier plating bubbles on today's copper coated zinc cents. While they can look similar, they are caused by two completely unrelated and different causes Newenglandrarities and powermad5000 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newenglandrarities Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 On 11/22/2023 at 3:38 PM, dprince1138 said: You got to stop with the misinformation dude. I mean, this is again a whole different coin. And, honestly, if you can’t see the different between plating and die crack, you really need to STOP and learn just the basic of coins: I’m wasting a lot of time responding to you, but I am a person who teaches, gives information, helps collectors yearly free of charge. A person like you diminishes all the work I do daily. At this point, you are just a disgrace to the hobby and really need to find a new place to go. dprince. You are an awful addition to the hobby and honestly hurt all of us who are actually trying to teach and help the next generation. Consider this, you are absolutely awful and should be ashamed of yourself. I can’t imagine you have found any help to your shady business with the responses you have received. Can I recommend the many other coin forums which you will also receive the same response. However, you are DONE here Coinbuf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newenglandrarities Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 On 11/22/2023 at 3:09 PM, PolarAce said: Thank you for the background information and details. I appreciate it. Hey PolarAce! Very sorry your thread got derailed because of a pest of a member we have here on the forums. Yes it is a plating crack, but first off, fantastic photography and actually I like the coin with the plating crack, as while it may be a little different than normal, it is different than most (I like different!!). I hope you keep posting and showing more of your coins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powermad5000 Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 I wish I could say he/she is done here @Newenglandrarities. But, as he/she has over and over and over, it just goes into troll mode and ignore mode and the nonsense just keeps going. I have the same feelings as you and all I know is it is EXHAUSTING because despite the criticism, this person refuses to learn anything. I remember when I came to this board. I know I was wrong about some things early on but I thanked who corrected me. I took notes. I listened. I learned. And I continued with my own research. And if I didn't know something, I didn't just have diarrhea of the mouth and spew whatever nonsense just to say something. To the OP, even though you do have a proof coin sealed in the Mint OGP, even proof coins can have imperfections even though they are not "supposed to". Proof is just the process by which the coin is produced. Like all processes, the process of producing proofs can have its own quality issues. Cents of this era have these plating issues, and proofs were not exempt to them. There have been other issues in proof sets, like one recently on here where there is a large smudge across a Kennedy Half proof in the sealed set that developed damage from the smudge. The first thing I saw when I glanced at the photo of your coin was another cent with a long linear plating bubble. Newenglandrarities 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandon Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Though presumably unintentionally, "prince" by posting a photo of a coin with an actual die crack has provided an opportunity to compare a linear plating bubble with a die crack. Note how the plating defect is softer and otherwise different in appearance than the die crack, which was formed by metal being squeezed into the crack as the coin was being struck and is much sharper. Another important characteristic of die cracks is that they appear at various stages on a number of the coins struck from the same die, unlike a plating defect, which would be quite unlikely to appear in the same place and otherwise identically on different coins. I doubt anyone has ever seen a 1983-S proof cent with an identical anomaly in exactly the same location as the OP's. In contrast, the obverse die cracks on an 1837 large date Liberty Seated dime, all of which were struck from a single die pair (F-101), appear on a number of these coins and in this state are designated F-101b. See https://www.seateddimevarieties.com/pictorial/1837.htm. I happen to have an example of an F-101b graded XF 45 by PCGS, showing the same crack as on the partial photo of a different coin posted by "prince". (In this state the coin actually has two intersecting cracks.) Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries. Newenglandrarities and J P M 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...