Proof coins have long since been a collector favorite. With their striking visual appeal and numismatic purpose, the coinage highlights the designs we are so used to seeing in a completely different way. Authors of the 100 Greatest United States Modern Coins, Jeff Garrett and Scott Schechter, have led us to a Proof coin today that is quite the mystery. Our blog series will follow along with their fourth edition ranking, highlighting the unusual circumstances that led to an error not usually made with Proof struck coinage.
#49 – 1998-S Lincoln Cent, Close AM, Proof
Due to the process of striking Proof coins and the controlled detail to ensure everything goes accordingly, having a Proof die variety is rare. Authors Garrett and Schechter hit on this point heavily, pointing out that those that do exist have managed to stay under the radar and offer little to no explanation for how they came to be. The only thing that is obvious about their existence is that the United States Mint made an error when it came to one of the processes involved in its minting.
The 1998-S Proof Lincoln Cent, Close AM variety is one of those that offers little explanation for its creation. Heading back to the year 1993, all Proof Lincoln cents on the reverse side showcased the AM in AMERICA practically touching. This was said to be a cost-saving decision, enhancing the life of the die. It was used on both Proof and circulated versions. In the following year of 1994, the Close AM was still used for the circulation coins, but the Wide AM reverse was adopted for the Proof Lincoln cents leading up to 1998. This is where circumstances get curious: the 1998-S Proof Lincoln Cent can be found with both the Close AM and the Wide AM variety. Of over the two million coins minted that year, only a few hundred are known to exist of the Close AM.
Authors Garrett and Schechter once again express that no one truly knows what happened with the 1998-S Proof Lincoln cent coins during striking but hit on a theory that suggests that a hub used for the creation of circulation issues was used instead. This is sometimes referred to as the “circulation-style reverse.”
What is even more interesting is that this happened again in the following year, leading to the creation of the 1999-S, Close AM, Proof Lincoln cent. However, it is said that they are increasingly more common than the 1998.
Since Whitman Publishing’s first edition of this series, this coin has slipped just one spot from #48.