1960 Lincoln cent; what is small, what is large?

[wavysteps2003]

I was talking with Eric von Klinger today and an interesting subject came up on Lincoln cent date size.

As we all know, there are three dates that have a large and small size in the Lincoln cent series; 1982, 1974 and 1960. The first two dates, 1982 and 1974 are self explanitory for the dates are in fact large and small, however, it is a different story for the 1960 date and it can be a bit confusing.

If you have a 1960 large and small date handy, compare them and you will be surprised at what you see. The 1 and 9 digits in both dates are the same in size, both in length and width. The 6 digit is different in both dies; the large date 6 digit is an inverted 9 digit, while the small date 6 digit is in fact a designed 6 digit punch. However. the size of both digits are compatible with each other in width and height. Now the fun begins; the 0 digit in the small date is larger than the 0 digit in the large date, so, overall, the small date is larger than the large date. Now, take a look at 1960d-1DO-001 and 1960P-1DO-002P and you will see the smaller 0 digit on top (first hubbed large date) with a large 0 digit (second hubbing small date) underneath. Now look at 1960P-1DO-003 and you wil see the reverse; the first hubbing was with a small date, followed by a second hubbing with a large date.

Now you have a bit of trivia to stump your friends when discussing Lincoln cents. You all have a good one.

WAVYSTEPS2003 aka BJ Neff

[Bob P]

I have heard of this information before, but it was many years ago. Thanks for posting it BJ. It is a very interesting set of facts concerning the large and small dates of 1960.

[wavysteps2003]

There was one other little fact that I did discover after the above post. The 1 digit in the "large" date is also smaller than the "small" date 1 digit. In the previous post, I had said that they both were the same.

WAVYSTEPS2003 aka BJ Neff

[coppercoins]

Actually the 1 digit is the only one that's the same. The 960 are different between the two different date sizes. The reason for this is that the 1 was in the master engraving to keep a place holder for the date. The other digits of the date were placed in the first step after the engraving. This info came from two different sources - Sol Taylor and Rich Schemmer.

[wavysteps2003]

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, the camera got me again (actually my eyes and what I thought that I was seeing).

Indeed, the 1960 "small date" is in fact smaller in size than the "large date". However, only two digits, the 9 and the 6, are of unequal size.


LARGE DATE ------------------------SMALL DATE

If you take a look at this comparision, you will see that both 1 digits are the same and actually, both 0 digits are the same, just positioned differently.


LARGE DATE------------------------SMALL DATE

The main difference is in the 9 digit and the 6 digit which are both larger in the large date than the small date.

Which master hub was made first remains a mystery. However, we do know that both master hubs were used in production at the same time at both the Denver and Philadelphia mints. The small date was the first of these to dies to be released to the public, which may indicate that the small date was made first


SMALL DATE------------------------------LARGE DATE

When comparing both of this dies, side by side, a difference can be noted in LIBERTY (large date LIBERTY is uneven, small date it is even), IN GOD WE TRUST (most notable difference is the R in TRUST) and of course the date, which is discussed above.

Once again, I am sorry if I caused any confusion on this dual sized Lincoln cent date.

WAVYSTEPS2003 aka BJ Neff

[Dick]

BJ, I have always gone by the "96" to determine which was which, until I became accustmed to what I was looking for. I didn't have a stereo, di-optor zoom, .7-45 power, microscope then, and all I could do was use my camcorder, with the zoom lens from my color camera, to send a picture to the TV . Then I marked a known small date, with black crayon, and used the markers to identify, large, from small. Crude, but it worked! This might also be applied to the 1970, large/small dates.
Dick

[grandpafirst]

Thank you all for your kind assistance. I will be purchasing these 1960 and 1960-D coins for my collection. I will purchase these from the lincolncent.com web site to ensure I am getting the correct coins. I then will place them in my Dansco folder very carefully and keep a copy of these posts for my reference.

I understand I will need to order 1960d-1DO-001 and 1960P-1DO-002P, correct?

Thanks....for your expert assistance. It has been really frustrating me.

[Dick]

Grandpafirst, Good morning! I would refer you to Bob, or Chuck for final determination of the 1960-P, And 1960-D. I am not sure if the lg/sm, and sm/lg are considered "doubling", so the notation:1960P-1DO-001, or 1960D-1DO-001 may not be accurate. Either of them could say, and by checking the Lincolncent.com site will tell you if they are available. If they should not be available there, you could try the "BUY, Sell, or Trade" section, on the forum, and ask for the specifics.
Thanks fior the Kudos, but I too am just beginner. About two years of serious collectijng, and of that since sept. of last year, a variety collector, thanks to the good people here. They are VERY patient, and helpful.
Dick

[eagames]

Those coins 1960d-1DO-001 and 1960P-1DO-002P are doubled die varieties. If all you want is the 4 normal types to fill a folder they should be much cheaper:

1960-P LD (25 cents for BU)
1960-P SD ($3-5 for BU)
1960-D LD (25 cents for BU)
1960-D SD (25 cents for BU)
Sometimes you can get a set of all 4 for about $5.

You can also get the 7 type sets of 1982 cents fairly cheap, the sets of 7 types go for about $5.

You could find those on ebay or maybe if some member has some to sell if you ask. I don't see them listed as sets on lincolncent.com but if you send CD a message he probably has those types.

[Earwig]

Also on small date cents there is a distinct block impression on alot of them plus the inside of the zero is smaller put the 2 side by side and i assure you you can see the difference way easier then spotting 70s, ive found about 10 rolls going through bags and rolls of the 60 p small date. Havnt even opened my 60d mintsewn bags yet but out of the 2 fed rolled bags i have i havnt found 1 60 d small date but i only searched 2 rolls out of each. Good thing i got rolls of them

Eric