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| Indian Head 1900-1909
Bronze (Cu/Sn/Zn) |
United States
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1C 1905
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PCGS MS 64 RB
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The Indian head design predates the Civil War. It could be found in general circulation up to the 1950's. When this beauty was minted, a penny had some buying power ( a bit more than a quarter in today's dollars). This sharp Indian is a genuine red-brown. I was able to grab this one at a nice price at a Teletrade auction.
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| Lincoln Wheat
vdb rev. 1909
Bronze (Cu/Sn/Zn) |
United States
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1C 1909 VDB
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PCGS MS 64 RD
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I picked this beauty up on a Heritage auction in 2010. It has a Red designation, but tends more towards red-brown. It's an honest MS64. I have always been fascinated by the vdb coins of 1909 and was willing to overpay for it at the time (which I did). Happily, the value has caught up and passed what I paid. In the 1960's, I had a friend whose father had a complete set of Lincolns. I remember my friend allowing me to handle his father's 1909-S vdb and double die 1955. I am glad his father did not catch us.
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| Lincoln Wheat
no initials
1909-1917
Bronze (Cu/Sn/Zn) |
United States
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1C 1909 LINCOLN
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PCGS MS 65 RB
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View Coin
| Lincoln Wheat
vdb obv. 1918-1942, 1946-1958
Bronze (Cu/Sn/Zn) |
United States
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1C 1939
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NGC MS 67 RD
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I bought this red beauty on eBay. It sold on Teletrade for more in 2008. What a bargain!
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| Lincoln Wheat Steel
1943 |
United States
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1C 1943
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NGC MS 67
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Growing up in the 60's, steel cents were those ugly black coins sometimes found in change. While an interesting curiosity, and another jumping off point for my father to tell yet another WWII story, the coins were not interesting to the child I was. Then I found out how lovely they could be in their pristine mint condition - like the bumper on a 50's Cadillac. This shinny steelie was purchased from Cheapslabs.com for almost half its retail, and less than the current auctions. It was a great find.
Coinage during WWII was a story unto itself. The U.S. Mint was asked to conserve, if not eliminate, the use of bronze (copper alloy) during the war. While there were several other alternative metals considered, such as aluminum and stainless steel, in 1943 the mint chose a zinc-coated steel alloy. Over a billion steel cents were minted at the three mints in 1943. When freshly minted these steel cents looked much like dimes at a glance and caused some confusion. Additionally, they were magnetic, which meant they would not work in many penny vending machines at the time. The steel penny experiment lasted a single year.
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| Lincoln Wheat
Shell casing bronze
1944-1945 |
United States
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1C 1944
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NGC MS 67 RD
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The steel penny experiment of 1943 ended after the single year run. Still, the Mint wanted to do its part for the war effort. The mints requested that spent military shell casings, mostly naval ordnance, be recycled and used for coinage, since the shell casings were also made of a brass alloy like the cent. In 1944 and 1945, the mints produced billions of the shell-case cents which, at a glance, looked just like the pre-war bronze cents. However, many had colorful greenish and yellowish streaks, or even thin black lines. Later analysis showed that the ingredients in the explosives, such as phosphorus and manganese — even in minuscule traces — can discolor the alloy. Even today, many mint state specimens of 1944 and 1945 cents show these colors. By 1946, the mints returned to commercial bronze alloy.. The example used here is a beautiful example of the shell-casing cent.
This gorgeous beauty was picked up on a Teletrade auction at a substantial discount.
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| Lincoln Memorial
Bronze (Cu/Sn/Zn)
1963-1982 |
United States
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1C 1961
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PCGS PF 67 Red
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View Coin
| Lincoln Memorial
Bronze (Cu/Zn)
1963-1982 |
United States
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1C 1980 S
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PCGS PF 69 RD ULTRA CAMEO
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This bronze beauty has spectacular color and detail. Yes, it is a rather common coin in this grade, but it is hard to find a better example of a proof bronze memorial cent.
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View Coin
| Liberty Nickel 1900-1913 |
United States
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5C 1911
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NGC MS 60
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The Liberty nickel, or "V" nickel, is a Charles Barber design that is a carry-over from the nineteenth century. The 75%/25% copper/nickel alloy is the same alloy used today for modern five cent coins. The dawn of the twentieth century saw an unprecedented demand for nickels - particularly for coin operated machine use. The 1911 example shown here is from the largest run - nearly 40 million.
With this example, the strike is sharp and crisp, with only a couple of small dark spots on the reverse at about 3 o'clock. The sharp obverse makes up for the dark spots that do not materially detract.
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