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I have what I believe to be a 1955-p Lincoln ("cracked skull") 1 cent piece that was given to me. It has been in a sealed glass jar along with about 6 dollars in change for about 48 years !! As I were both a tool and die maker for 16 years and then a Tooling Engineer for another 18 years, I am quite familiar with cracked and/ or fratured upper and lower dies
The damage is located just above the right eye and reciding hair line area of Lincoln's head. Some of Lincoln's hair has been redirected down into the area where there's not suppose to be hair. And where there's no hair, there is upheaved metal in the ununiformed design similar to a crack. There are 3 such visible cracks coming out of the hair at top of the head. The left crack proceeds up the left lower cornor of the D and travels up at about a 12 degree angle thru to the upper most start of the radius of the D and up to the rim.
The second crack line protrudes out of the top of the head and travels towards the bottom of the lower leg, at mid point, of the E in the word WE and removes the copper material altogether from the lower left corner of the letter E. From there, the crack contiues to travel to the letter W in the word WE. At that point it seems to travel under the right portion of the W and then proceeds into the lower left leg of the W and, there again, removes copper material from that area of the W.
I have never heard anything about this type of condition on a Lincoln penny. Is this coin considered very unusual ? Because the condition of the coin , in my opinion , between AU-50 and 55 , should I consider have it graded by NGC?
Thanks,
MIKE
Edited by dogmanduke (01/10/12 08:05 AM)
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