Don K. writes: I have seen different varieties of the 1922 plain lincoln cent advertised. Are there different types or are they just degrees of strike clarity?
1922 cents were only minted at the Denver, Colorado Mint. Of the many working dies used each year to strike cents, it is now suspected that three die pairs were responsible for the 1922 “no mint mark” variety.
Note: their can’t be any trace of the “D”. Beware of faint “D” 1922-D. This is not one of the 1922 “plain” varieties.
Die Pair #1: second “2” in the date is weaker than the first “2”. The first “T” in TRUST is sharper than the other letters. The word “WE” is very soft and mushy. The reverse has poor detail with little or no lines in the wheat ears (Weak Reverse). Die Pair #1 is was mated with a reverse die, called the “Jogging Die Crack”. The crack begins at the “L” in “Pluribus” continues to the top of the “O” in ONE CENT and then bisects the “O”. This characteristic is a late die state and may appear in various stages of deterioration. Note that this reverse die is also seen with the “faint D” 1922-D.
Die Pair #2: second “2” in the date is stronger than the first “2”. All the letters in TRUST are sharp. The reverse is strong.
Die Pair #3: second “2” in the date is weaker than the first “2”. TRUST is weakly struck but stronger than IN GOD. On the reverse the lower left part of the “O” in ONE is distorted (more so in later die state).
