Is it a 1999 Wide AM?

toomanysplinters · New Member

Hello,

I'm new to the group and look forward to reading it regularly.

I was looking through a bucket of coins last night and came across a 1998 Wide AM and what I believe to be a 1999 Wide AM Shocked

.

I hope i'm right, but the number that have been found to date (or at least graded) I'm a little skeptical.

Check these images out (if you can) and let me know what you think. I'd also welcome your comments on what you think it would grade at.

Thanks in advance, and i look forward to hearing from any/all of you.

Scott[img][/img]

murphy · Senior Member

Welcome to the forum. I'm no expert but it certainly looks good to me Scott. Congratulations on a rare find. You might want to submit it for grading to make sure and if you ever want to sell it you'd surely get more for it if it was in a PCGS slab.
I would be very interested to know which part of the country this bucket of coins came from. I live in southern Indiana and from local change have found dozens of 1998 and 2000 wide AM's, but never a 1999. I was just wondering where the 1999 Wide AM's can be found.

Bob P · Site Admin

Hi Scott,
Welcome to the coppercoins forum.
From looking at your pic of the 99 coin, and comparing it to the 1998s and 2000s I have, it looks pretty good. I had a thread about possible 1999 wide AMs where the spread between the letters was not quite as strong as yours. I can't find it, but I will see if I can't locate the pics I took.
Of course...as Murphy stated, having it authenticated/verified by a 3rd party grading service certainly wouldn't hurt. If it is indeed a 1999 Wide AM, it would also have the different designers initials where the FG is closer to the memorial base. I would check your coin with the pics of the wide AM from this site to try and confirm it

http://koinpro.tripod.com/Articles/_Ty-2_Reverse_Cent_Varieties.htm

If it is the wide AM variety, please let us know.

toomanysplinters · New Member

Thanks for the feedback Murph and Bob. I was planning on having it graded, but wanted to first be somewhat confident that it was what I thought it was.

I checked the link you sent Bob and it sure looks to me that the designers initials match the one of the wide variety. The G has that horizontal bar pointing into the center of the G and it seems to closer to the base of the Memorial.

As far as where I came from... I live in MA, but the coin could have come from the VA area. I had a small bucket of change that came from some relatives down there, but I combined it with another one my pocket change. I imagine that Indiana gets mostly Denver mint coinage?

Thanks again guys for the info and tips.
Scott

toomanysplinters · New Member

Oh, one other question. I have yet to have any coins graded and was wondering. Do you have to pay a membership fee to get coins graded? Which grading service should I send them to?

I have two coins that would like slabbed this one, and a 1955 Double Die.

Scott

Gabe · Senior Member

Very cool find! I have found 2000 and 1998 type 2 cents, but no 1999.

If you submit to ANACS, you dont need to have a membership and you can submit the coins yourself. If you wish to go with NGC or PCGS, you would need to be a member, or submit the coins through a certified dealer.

Again, nice find!

murphy · Senior Member

PCGS - they are worth the extra money.
http://www.pcgs.com/
We get most of our coin around here from the fed bank I think at @ Cincinnatti, Ohio. It's all P mint. Very rarely do I see a box of pennies with D mint marks. Got a box of pennies in 2004 and two boxes of nickels last year with Denver mint marks.

coppercoins · Site Admin

If your obverse and reverse photos are indeed the same coin, you have a definite rarity on your hands! The reverse photos are without a doubt the "wide AM" variety that was supposed to end on business strike cents in 1992. I have no doubt at all that's what you have there.

While certification might be recommended, you can rest assured that's what you have. Congrats!

Gabe · Senior Member

Also, that is a nice looking coin for being found in a bucket of coins! Very cool!

toomanysplinters · New Member

I'm not sure if it's possible, but can anyone give me a feel for what it might grade at based on the attached pics?

Gabe · Senior Member

I would call that coin MS-64, but a better picture is needed to tell for sure. Maybe someone else in the board has another opinion about the condition of the coin.

wavysteps2003 · Expert Member

Just one more point of interest in assuring that you do have an actual Lincoln cent 1999 is the die clash marks that are found in bays # 3, 7 and 8.

Now for the big question; has anyone run across a a 1999 type II that does not have the die clash marks? It has been assumed that the 1998 and the 2000 type II had a much larger run since a full box of reverse dies may have been used. However, this was not the case with the 1999 type II. Two possiblities exist; one, that a business and a proof die were switched in box (substanciated by the finding of of 1999 proof with a business reverse) or two, that the proof reverse die was set aside after the die clash and inadvertenly grab and used with a business obverse. Any thoughts?

WAVYSTEPS2003

coop · Expert Member

Markers can come and go, expecially things like die cracks on column # 12 or # 1. Most Cents have marks there. Well the same can be true with die clashes. They might be strong for a while then fade out with the number of cleanings that the die may get through and dies often receive more than one die clash. So you might want to check for more markers than just one that could be seen on certain die states. There are a couple of intersting die scratches through the first T on TRUST and through the U. But even that isn't 100% sure. As coins made before that die clash or die scratch. What you need is a sure marker that would show in all die states, but that might be impossible. Some dies has some irregularities from the beginning, but they are sometimes pulled, sometimes left to make more strikes. So you might have to use, rather than just one marker, but several. This would take several examples to see what these might be. Be interesting to see how many of these examples were minted?

foundinrolls · Member

Hi,
This is definitely a 1999 wide AM or Type2 variety. I know I'm hopping in late on this one.
Have Fun,
Bill

coop · Expert Member

Welcome to Coppercoins Bill. Better to post late than never. Hope you are getting all you reading done. A lot of information to digest all at once. Thanks for your comments.