1999 wide am penny?

kygirl1227

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Apr 19, 2015
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So I went to the bank today got 5 dollars in rolled pennies, and can't believe what I found...although the condition of the penny is crap....it's the first one of its kind I ever found...what do you all think....?:hello2: 20150516_172750.jpg
 

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kygirl1227

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It's hard to see but the am is not touching by any means but my camera is crappy poo :)
 

coinguy*matthew

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Mar 30, 2013
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Yes it is indeed a wide AM proof reverse but unfortunately cleaning any coin no matter the condition will drop any perceived value quite a bit.
 

huntsman53

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I agree that it is a "Wide AM" Variety and a nice find! Congrats! While I agree that cleaning coins can lower the value of a coin, from what I can see from the pics, it appears that you did good in cleaning the coin as well as removing the verdigris with no real detriment to the coin. I say this because anyone can tell that the coin has been circulated and the spotting where the verdigris once was, now only appears as staining from environmental contaminants. Sure it is doubtful that the coin would fetch a price similar to a 1999 "Wide AM" Variety Cent of the same grade that has no staining but there are many collectors out there that would pay decent money to have your' coin in their' collection! I would really be interested in what you used to remove the verdigris and what technique/method you used in cleaning the coin!!?? I know lots of ways to clean coins and especially Copper coins but I am always interested in learning other methods and especially if they are different than the methods I use!


Frank
 

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kygirl1227

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Frank, I'm not an expert so I Googled it and honestly the only thing I did was use ketchup and warm water and gently rolled around a Qtip and it really cleaned it up....obviously It didn't perfectly, but all the little sticky crud came ran right off...:)
 

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huntsman53

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Frank, I'm not an expert so I Googled it and honestly the only thing I did was use ketchup and warm water and gently rolled around a Qtip and it really cleaned it up....obviously It didn't perfectly, but all the little sticky crud came ran right off...:)

I had read about the use of ketchup, I believe on another thread on Treasurenet but have never tried it. I have some Lincoln Wheat Cents that although Acetone arrested the chemical reaction that was causing damage to the coins, it would not remove it. Maybe it is time to dig them out and see if ketchup and warm water will do any better! It would be nice if the staining on your' 1999-P "Wide AM" Lincoln Cent could be lessened but I fear that trying to do so, could seriously effect the other toning on the coin and either strip the toning or leave it splotchy. You definitely would not want this to happen!


Frank
 

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kygirl1227

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No, I'm happy with the way it cleaned up, honestly look at the first pic of Lincoln face and then afterwards, It did wonders but not going to continually do it for the fear of eating the coin up to the point of no return
 

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Great find, Just please be careful with Katchup! It will turn a beautiful coin Pink!!!.. A safe alt.. is like mentioned Acetone... followed by Few days sitting in olive oil..
A great product you may want to check out... Specially for the removal of verdigris is called "Verdi Care" its my favorite.. Safe and effective. Came across it on a coin forum i frequent. Coincommunity one of the members invented it.. who's a collector. I love hunting for Wide and Close AM variety's... I still have to check which year is what... lol Thanks for sharing.
 

huntsman53

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Great find, Just please be careful with Katchup! It will turn a beautiful coin Pink!!!.. A safe alt.. is like mentioned Acetone... followed by Few days sitting in olive oil..
A great product you may want to check out... Specially for the removal of verdigris is called "Verdi Care" its my favorite.. Safe and effective. Came across it on a coin forum i frequent. Coincommunity one of the members invented it.. who's a collector. I love hunting for Wide and Close AM variety's... I still have to check which year is what... lol Thanks for sharing.

So far and as far as I know, only some of the 1998-P, 1999-P and 2000-P "Business or for Circulation Strike" Lincoln Memorial Cents have been found to have been struck with Proof Reverse Dies with the "Wide AM"! It was rumored that a 1997-P "Wide AM" Lincoln Memorial Cent had been found but it was found to actually be a "Close AM" and was pulled. There have been a few 1992-P and 1992-D "Business Strike" Lincoln Memorial Cents found that were struck with "Close or Near AM" Reverse Dies when they all were supposed to have been struck with Dies that still had the "Wide AM" as the transition was not supposed to occur until the production year ended for 1992. Ironically, the 1993-S Proof Cents were struck with both "Close AM" Business Strike Reverse Dies and "Wide AM" Proof Reverse Dies and neither are more valuable than the other nor are they considered rare. Also, so far as as far as I know, only some 1998-S and 1999-S Proof Cents have been found that were struck with "Close AM" Business Strike Reverse Dies! I have never found a 1998-S Proof Cent with the "Close AM" Reverse but have found three 1999-S Proof Sets that contained Cents that were struck with "Close AM" Business Strike Dies. I picked all three up as well as as three other Proof Sets at a Pawn Shop for only $60, sold one of the 1999-S Proof Sets for $350, another for $325 and traded the last one for almost $300 worth of coins.

Good luck on searching for these Varieties!


Frank
 

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