{"id":1122,"date":"2025-01-06T23:12:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T23:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archangel-coins.local\/?p=1122"},"modified":"2025-01-07T18:21:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T18:21:59","slug":"libertys-lost-l-a-common-occurrence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archangelcoins.com\/libertys-lost-l-a-common-occurrence\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberty\u2019s Lost \u201cL\u201d: A Common Occurrence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liberty\u2019s Lost \u201cL\u201d: A Common Occurrence.<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Missing

This seller is asking $2450. Please note the die deterioration on eh “E” and “R” in Liberty. This is not an error.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Missing

Another Seller asking $1801. For this no “L” & no Mint mark Lincoln cent advertised as an error. The lack of mint mark tells us this was struck at Philadelphia, the “L” is the same type of die deterioration shown on the previous image.<\/p><\/div>\n

First, it is important to address the misinformation.\u00a0 The images in this article are coins that are being offered for sale through various websites all advertised as errors. Sadly, once again a small group of individuals utilizing YouTube, TikTok, and other social media venues have deceived the public for their own personal gain.\u00a0 These coins are NOT errors and are NOT rare. <\/b><\/p>\n

Secondly, it is important to understand there are numerous causes of a coin losing part of its design. However, when it comes to pennies in particular the most likely culprit is wear and tear on the dies that produce the coins.\u00a0 Dies are an expensive part of the manufacturing process, costs to have a pair of dies made sometimes exceed $2500. <\/b><\/p>\n

This is without considering the additional operating costs, maintenance, manpower, transportation, and packaging costs associated with production.\u00a0 Given how little a penny buys and that it costs more than the face value to produce, the mint does everything in its power to save money.\u00a0 This includes using dies long after they would have been retired and replaced for any other denominations.\u00a0 Eventually, this leads to coins that show significant die deterioration that manifests as weakness or loss of design features, the \u201cL\u201d in the word Liberty being so close to the rim is commonplace for this to occur.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

Other related issues:<\/h2>\n

Another, very common manifestation of this issue is in the appearance of mintmarks and legends.\u00a0 As the dies wear it is very common for mint marks to fill or various parts of the wording to deform in small but noticeable ways.\u00a0 In earlier coins from the 1800s, production of coinage was significantly less, and die erosion \/die wear could be tracked.\u00a0 With the mass production that coins undergo today, this would be a monumental task.\u00a0 It would involve cataloging thousands of dies each year.\u00a0 The world of coin collecting does not see any value in even attempting such a herculean task as collectors do not generally speaking collect modern coins by die pairings.<\/b><\/p>\n

Other common occurrences that are not errors:<\/b><\/h2>\n