strong new 1959 D/D/D or significant stage of RPM 1 ??

[coppersleuth]

I was very intrigued to find this example of what I thought was a clear RPM 1 for 1959-D. Maybe it still will end up that way, but there were significant differences that started to catch my eye as I did more research on this site's MDS pics.

http://static.flickr.com/99/263769488_2000f30f9f.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/99/263769489_dcf6dbb40c.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/96/263769490_c6f75a674b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/87/263769491_bbdc398518.jpg

The two items that come to mind include the STRONG obvious extra D showing WITHIN the primary D. Does not even show up in the MDS at all as far as I could tell, though reference is made to the Southeast punching increasing in strength with die age. Just wasnt sure if that meant going from nothing inside to "clear as a bell" inside!

Second, note the pronounced upper left serif of westerly D. Seems more seperated/open and distinct than the site's MDS pics, which is more of a closed bar.

My coin's reverse does not have the die crack markers.

None of the other RPM's for 59-D seemed similar to my coin, other than the RPM-1. So I am very curious as to what I might have here. Looking forward to your expertise!

coppersleuth

[coppersleuth]

You know, I just looked at CONECA's listings, and Im now sure this is what they refer to as a Stage F - VLDS example. They note in this stage that the secondary mint mark can be seen inside primary mint mark.

They list this RPM as "TOP 100", and when I clicked on the visual link, there was my coin.

Seems a certainty this is what I have here, folks

Shoot - looks like I got all excited a bit too early ! Anyway, perhaps pics of this stage will provide helpful visual reference for this site.

Any comments welcome

[coop]

From what I see on your third image on the East side of the MM, you can see the wear almost like a snow drift between the field and the MM. So it is a 001, VLDS. But your example should have a LMDS reverse. That is why the reverse markers aren't there. You might want to check with Bob to see if he has images of the reverse die change. That he might be interested in.
Coop

[eagames]

Coppersleuth,

That's a neat one!
How do you get to see the images from Coneca, is it something that only members get access to?

[coop]

Ed: The images are in Black/White with just the mintmark area shown. The Book Entitled "The RPM Book" by James Wiles. The book has a description of the markers in different die stages. Nice for the time but the site is better with images of Date & MM and also marker images.

[coppersleuth]

Hello Ed! Thanks for the kudos

Actually, the only reason the image is available on CONECA's site was because it is in their Lincoln Cent "Top 100" designation.

You can access CONECA site at the following link (you do not need to be a member):

http://conecaonline.org/

When you get there, look down the CATEGORIES list along the left side of the page. Scroll down to WEBSITE FEATURES category and click on "CONECA Top 100". That will bring you to the Top 100 site for the Lincolns (as well as for the Jeffersons). Click the Lincoln link and then simply click on the date you wish to look at, and the view of the mintmark area will pop up.

I second Coop's comments, however, in that for the Lincoln series there is no better site than Coppercoins for the detail of images and markers and overall descriptions. Coppercoins is without equal in terms of their data base. Folks like Bob and Chuck are wonderful with their time and energy, and there are many extremely helpful members who add guidance and comments. I know I'm preachin' to the choir here, so please excuse my exhuberance. But I am impressed with Coppercoins in all aspects!

However, it is always useful to have additional reference sources such as the CONECA site, and Wiles's books are excellent as well. in my direct experience, I have always found James Wiles to be a helpful, supportive, and responsive hobby advocate.

I hope this helps, Ed!

[eagames]

Thanks Coppersleuth!

Another nice set of pics.
I had been to their site but never clicked that link.

[coppercoins]

This RPM is one of few in the Lincoln cent series that started a controversy a number of years ago...

It was assumed that as a die wore out, the diagnostic anomaly on the die would wear with time, becoming less visible with the wear. This one die was in the forefront of a study because it was noticed that as the die wore, the anomaly actually became MORE visible. This is because the material they used to fill the southeast mintmark started chipping out with the wear, eventually leaving most of that punching completely visible by VLDS.

With this die it was no longer safe to assume that doubling became softer and less noticeable with die wear. We now had proof that some dies - a very small percentage of dies - showed more of the anomaly in later die states. So there you have it...an earlier die state version of this die shows only a partial curve to the east. Mid die state shows almost the full curve. Late die state shows the curve and the inside portion of the extra mintmark to the east, and very late die state shows nearly the entire extra mintmark to the east.

What you have is a late to very late die state version of 1959D-1MM-001.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it