Expert: Jim Lawniczak - 10/29/2007

Question
This penny appears to be a normal penny, but when looked at closer the mint mark date says 197. Does something like this have value?

Answer
Hello, Sara, there are several possibilities.  To be sure, you would have to show your piece to an expert, perhaps at a coin shop in your town or at a coin show.  One possibility is damage after the piece was made.  Perhaps a curious boy removed the last digit of the date with an acid, just to see what happened, or with a scalpel.  If that happened, there should be some damage in the area where the last digit was, look carefully.  Damage after minting has no value, and indeed will detract from any numismatic value (leaving value only at face value).

Or perhaps your piece was weakly struck at the date (in which case, there will usally be a faint outline of the digit where it should be; or struck through something like lint or grease or something else that got in the way of the last digit striking up.  That is not too uncommon a mistake and not all that sought after either, so usually it would not have any additional value.

Try going to www.ebay.com.  If you do a search for struck through cent, a couple will come up including one with a 1990 cent with the last digit weak.  Keep in mind that the asking price is just that, an asking price, an no one has paid it yet, Jim Lawniczak