Expert: Bruce Goldstein - 2/20/2011

Question
first thank you for your time.
I have a 1976 penny and it says"In God we tru" there is no (st) on it.it is not marked or  lighter in any way it is just not there.I have looked and asked many dealers ,have not found anymore of them anywhere.I was offered $1.00 at a coin shop but didnot think that was right, any insight would be great,I know not seeing it is just my word but it is like I say like they took the st out of the press and just made "tru"

Answer
Actually, I think the dollar you were offered was fair.  Coins like that are relatively common as sometimes letters might not come out during the minting process due to possible grease in the dies, some other obstruction, or worn dies.  I think this would be something like grease in the dies that would cause what you see and is not really a rare occurance.