Lincoln center 1961 penny with pipe in mouth rare or not? Is it fake?

[sproatz]

is this rare , worth money or not? Or fake?

 

[boristhespider88]

Worth 1 American U.S. cent. Spend it. No extra value.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I found one with 2 smoke rings above the pipe. It's a keeper for me, but maybe worth a dollar as a novelty item.

 

[GlenDronach]

No, it's a real penny...

 

[mAGma]

Haha this made my morning

 

[galenrog]

What is being described is sometimes called a "counterstamp". There are other terms that describe the same thing, but this is the one I learned to use.

A coin or or token is stamped with an image after it leaves the mint. This image can be whatever someone wants. I remember seeing advertisements for halves that had a small image of Lincoln added that faced Kennedy. These were sold with a "Letter of Authenticity" that included some obscure "facts" about both and sell for many times the face value of the original coin.

I commonly see a few counterstamped coins every week. Letters, numbers, names, designs. You name it. Someone has probably stamped it on a coin. They are not rare by any means, but from time to time, I will see one that I like and keep it.

It could be fun to set these aside to see what people with too much time will do. Enjoy!

 

[enamel7]

It's a real cent. Just a novelty counter stamped outside the mint. I have many different ones.