I am trying to learn as much as I can about old penny's and there's a few things I'm having a lil trouble in and here's one. Does this penny have an upended or closed AM?
Thanks a lot
They are called "Close AM" and "Wide AM" Varieties and your' Lincoln Cent appears to be a "Close AM"! If you have trouble determining whether a Cent is a "Close or Wide AM" Variety, look at the Designer's Initials (FG") at the lower right of the Memorial Building. On the "Close AM" Variety, the "FG" sits further away from the Memorial Building and the left side of the "G" sits barely inside of a North/South line from the lower right corner of the Memorial Building and doesn't have the Serif attached to lower bar of the letter. On the "Wide AM" Variety, the "FG" is closer to the Memorial Building and the "G" is pretty much centered on a North/South line from the lower right corner of the Memorial Building and has a Serif attached to the lower bar of the letter.
That really depends on the condition of the coin! The coin appears to have dirt, grime and/or corrosion on it and if so, then these need to be addressed. Sometimes it is wise to send a coin in for conservation to NCS, then once the conservation has been completed, have them send the coin to the NGC side to have the coin certified, graded and the Variety attributed. However, if the coin is deemed too damaged to gain much value from having it conserved, certified, graded and the Variety attributed, you may be better off arresting (stopping) the corrosion with a quick bath in Acetone and leave the rest as is. If this is the best choice and once the corrosion has been arrested, place it in a 2x2 coin protective holder and send it to Coneca (CONECA) for Variety attribution. When you send it to a Coneca Variety Attributer, make sure that you get a letter back noting the Variety. I have provided the links below for the information and contacts you need to submit the coin to a Coneca Variety Attributer.
I tried to reply to the post but only saw reply to you.
First off, ty sir for your service, thank you so much.
Now, as a newbie I made an error due to my over excitement at the find and posted the wrong pic and now I'll feel a fool if I'm wrong. Here is the actual coin and as can see, beautiful condition though the light is bad. I sure hope I get a positive reply from you about it. Thanks a lot
Ricky