1943 possible S/D ???

[MintyFresh]

Okay, this one nearly stumped me. I went to take a picture as it appeared to be an S/S but the zinc plating kept my at bay. When I turned (cocked) the coin to get a better look at the date, a "D" seem to appear. This got me on a quest to determine just exactly it was I was seeing.

What do you think? It this an S/S, a S/D, or just a trick of the eye?

[mustbebob]

The problem with dies that exhibit deterioration like this is that there is a tendency for the 'ghost' image to stretch out a bit, and it gets worse with more strikings. The area you point out is definitely the S, and not a D. You will note that the same anomaly exists on the date, Very common for the 1943 cents.

[MintyFresh]

I agree with you. After spending over an hour documenting it, and then sleeping on it, I came to the same conclusion, but there is metal under ther. Just not satisfied completely with my conclusion. Here are the pics I didn't send up. I wanted to present the data in order of my [enlightenment] and give you my initial thought, and then these to see if I was catching on, and learn some more.

It's an "S"

Thanks

[jcuve]

I would like to point out as you examine this coin that the zinc plating originates from well before the coin was struck. The steel was supposedly plated before it was even punched into blanks which is why the color and surface of the sides of the steelies is different than the faces.

And of course I agree with Bob that there is common DDD (Die Deterioration Doubling) on the date and mintmark. I have a post with pictures of DDD and there 's a 1943 if you scroll down.

http://www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/showthread.php?t=6169

[mustbebob]

Minty, as evidenced by some of your other posts, you are definitely learning. Please remember that many of us have been doing this for many decades, and even so, we learn something all the time. One suggestion I might make is that sometimes, newer folks to the hobby tend to over analyze what they are seeing, and that is not always a good thing. Sometimes, the simplest answers are the best answers. Knowing the die making process is a great help. We are always willing to help.