1992 D Wide or Close? Why so many variations? 1 1

[rexandfly9]

Such a buzz kill I thought I had a close AM and was told they're wide. Can anyone tell me how to find out for sure? Ty.

[Greenstang]

Please show a complete photo of the coin. There are other markers to distinguish between the two.   
Going by the distance between the A & M is the least reliable way of telling.  
Yours does look like a WAM but to verify we need a full picture.

What research did you do to come to the conclusion that is a CAM?

[J P M]

Yes it looks like a WAM but Greenstang is correct we need better shots for sure.

[Sandon]

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    Please post clear, cropped images of each side of a coin about which you have questions, not just closeups. Based on what you have shown so far, if your coin is dated 1992, it is a "Wide AM". On the "Close AM" variety, which is quite scarce, the "A" and "M" nearly touch. On the "Wide AM", they are still rather close.

   As for why there are these "variations", per the Deluxe or "Mega Red" Red Book, the explanation is as follows: "The reverse hub used for cents from 1974 to 1992 had the AM of AMERICA separated. A new reverse hub with the AM close together was used for all cents in 1993.  At least one new reverse die of each type was used for 1992-P  [sic] and -D cents made for circulation, but it is not known if this usage was deliberate or accidental."

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Looks wide to me also but we would need additional photos to make 100% sure.

As for your question on why there are so many variations, I am confused by that. There are only two variations, wide AM or close AM.

 

[VKurtB]

OP,

Please get used to the fact that names of varieties really suck. You don’t determine a “close AM” by looking at how close the A and M are. You also don’t determine a 1970-S small date cent by looking at the size of the date. Same with the 1982-D cents. The names of these varieties are stupid and make no sense