Interesting San Serif 1943-S Steel Cent

[iloveikes]

I know the odds are 1 in 30 million against this being a true Sans serif S mintmark....most will likely say die wear, die fill, die abrasion, contact hit disintegrating the area, or, combo effect..hit PLUS die wear......that's Ok....I had fun finding it....I'll give away a Indian Head cent to anyone who has a match to mine...can't be the ONLY one ever seen....I may send it into Anacs for a die polishing code...or whatever they decide....Mr. Diamond, I await your opinion.
Thanks...

[diamond]

Since the lower curve of the S-mintmark has a serif, it wouldn't make sense for the upper curve to lack one. Absence of the upper serif can be due to intentional die abrasion, a mintmark punch driven in at an angle, or a damaged punch. However, my knowledge of mintmark varieties is nowhere near as complete as that of BJ Neff and James Wiles. So I suggest we all wait until one or both chime in.

[wavysteps]

If the sans serif S mint mark had appeared before 1943, I would say that there would be a slight possibility of this being such. However, the sans serif came into being in 1945 (used on 1946 dies), so that makes it even more unlikely that this is the sans serif mint mark.

From the looks of the coin, I would hazard a guess and say corrosion and die polishing are the main culprits in making this serif S mint mark appear different.

To look on the bright side of things, an inverted serif S mint mark was found on a 1943 Lincoln cent just recently which makes it the second inverted mint mark on the Lincoln cent series (the 1946 S is the other inverted mint mark which was discovered in 2006). So, there are still opportunities to find something new; it just takes lots of looking and some luck.

BJ Neff

[JamesWiles]

I agree with others that the OP's cent is the standard straight S mintmark used on the 1943-S cent and not the Sans Serif style. The possible causes of the mishapen appearance have been enumerated. The straight S mintmark style is symmetrical, therefore it is impossible to tell if it is inverted. I have seen the supposed inverted piece and have concluded that the punch was tilted when hit.
Thanks,
James Wiles