1974 D Lincoln Memorial

[pennypal]

Found in loose change. Lincoln No Lips. I have a 1974 D Lincoln Memorial cent that show missing/faded/gone areas on the Obverse side. Lincoln's face is missing his lips. Part of his nose and under his chin, and the back of his head, and his neck, seem to be fading into the field. And his ear looks very strange compared to other coins.

I used a 1979 D LMC for face outline comprision, only because I didn't have another 1974 D LMC handy.

What do you call this type of error and how does this happen?

Thanks


Patc

[diamond]

You've got a case of overzealous die abrasion ("die polishing"). A technician abraded the die in order to remove some superficial damage. You do too much of that and the low-lying parts of the design disappear. Lincoln cents from 1972 - 1974 are notorious for such sloppy efforts.

[pennypal]

Thanks for the help.

Patc