What kind of error is this?

[PerfectDude]

First post here as I gave up coin collecting 35 years ago and just starting back. Bought a cheap digital computer camera two weeks ago. Looking through my pennies and stumbled upon this 1983 which has what appears to be an extra inverted Y that sits between the T & Y in LIBERTY. I don’t have a clue what it is.  Any help here? Thanks.

Back in the game after a long leave of absence........

[DWLange]

That's the result of occluded gas trapped between the zinc base and the brass plating. Under the pressure of striking, this formed bubbles. It's very common on the first three or four years of zinc cents and does not bring any premium.

[PerfectDude]

Thank you.

[Just Bob]

Welcome to the forum, and welcome back to the world of coins. If you have been gone for 35 years, then you will certainly notice that a lot of things have changed. Companies like NGC and PCGS have come along to replace ANACS as the resource to authenticate and grade coins, encapsulating in them plastic, and creating a "sight-unseen" market. Other companies will add their sticker of approval, as well. Dipped white coins are out of favor - naturally toned coins are in. A lot of the shady companies that operated back then, advertising BU coins in the trade magazines which turned out to be whizzed circulated junk, are gone, having been replaced by shady dealers on Ebay, selling artificially toned coins and Chinese counterfeits. There is a wealth of good resource material available, some of which has been authored by members of this forum. I recommend doing lots of research before committing too much money to the hobby. It could save you from some of the hard lessons that others of us have had to experience. And feel free to post here with any questions, or maybe some stories of collecting back in your earlier years.

Well done on buying that digital camera, too. Posting good pictures on here is always helpful, and most cell phones don't seem to do the job.

Regarding your coin, it is interesting the way that that trapped gas ended up looking like an inverted Y. Sort of the way I look when I have trapped gas, I suppose. Are the areas above and below the T and Y also raised?

 

[PerfectDude]

Thanks Bob, you’re funny.  I going to make my name WunHungLo but backed off as I didn’t want to offend people so you ended up getting PerfectDude, the opposite of Dude Perfect if you know who he is.

Anyway, yes the above and below are raised as well to include this reverse pic showing a possible die crack maybe? Would it be worth anything at all?

PS: Spent about 15 on the camera, bought a red book, and a small portable pocket microscope as my starter kit.  A Carson 10x glass too, all for around 50.  Figure if I find one penny error it’s worth the investment.  

Thanks.

[Just Bob]

16 hours ago, PerfectDude said:

 a possible die crack maybe? Would it be worth anything at all?

 

I am going to say, "no." It doesn't appear to be raised, and if it is, I would assume it was just like the issues on the obverse.

[Conder101]

Hard to say from the images but I think it might be a die crack.

[KarenHolcomb]

On 3/21/2018 at 10:06 AM, PerfectDude said:

Thank you.

See?! That's just not right. I would see that and think I was in the money. I understand that there are collectors that like either odd coins and to even complete sets of errors, like a penny of the same years from each mint all with the same error, or difference. So it could still, maybe, be worth something. If I were a rich-I'm not even going to try to spell that word-collector I'd want it for sure.

[Conder101]

On 3/21/2018 at 3:56 PM, PerfectDude said:

Thanks Bob, you’re funny.

Bob wasn't trying to be funny, he was dead serious.

[Thomas Kurr]

turned over Y?