Three More 1990 No-S Proof Lincoln Cents Found
The rare 1990 ‘No S’ Proof Lincoln Cent continues to surface, with three more recently discovered. Once thought to be nearly all accounted for, this elusive variety keeps surprising collectors and dealers alike. Could more still be out there?
Several weeks ago, I decided to look back and review stories that I penned for Numismatic News over the years that elicited the greatest responses. On the very top of my list was the 1990 “No S” Proof Lincoln Cent. My first story on a new find of this rarity was published in the June 16, 2017, issue of Numismatic News and resulted in six more specimens from two different readers being reported within a two-month time span. That is an incredible feat for a variety that many specialists felt the majority of had already been found many years ago. So, with a plan to lead off my next story for NN with a look back at the 1990 No S Proof cent, I decided to post the links to the online versions of my 2017 Numismatic News stories on Error-Variety News Education Center on Facebook to let folks know what was coming down the pike.
In very short order, a new find was reported to me in that group. That was a very pleasant surprise. When I called NN editor Sophia Mattimiro to run my plans by her, she told me that they had just received an email in on two more 1990 No S Cents that had just been discovered by a dealer who found them in a batch of proof sets that came into the shop. And, of course, she instructed me to run with the story.
So now we have three major discoveries found within a short period of time of each other, making it a total of ten pieces that have been covered in my stories, including the ones covered here. That is a pretty large number of new finds for a coin that many think most extant are known.
According to Jaime Hernandez, PCGS Price Guide editor, in his series, The Top 100 Modern Coins, “The estimate of less than 200 coins existing is due to the simple fact that these coins are seldom encountered. For approximately 20 years, the approximate figure of fewer than 200 coins extant has remained somewhat stable. For years, there have not been any reports of more 1990 No S proof Lincoln cents being discovered. The majority of 1990 proof and Prestige sets have been inspected. Dealers, collectors, and cherry pickers of both modern and classic coins are well aware of this variety, especially since it commands thousands of dollars even in the lowest grades. Lastly, this coin is hardly encountered in any major dealer’s inventory or even at some of the major auctions, where only a few examples make an appearance every year.”
The first of our latest finds was discovered by Ryan Hudson of North Carolina. He said he found one in a set he had owned for 34 years while inspecting his collection the week after last Thanksgiving. “I used to collect a little when I was younger because … my grandfather had always gifted me coins and stamps. He gave me this proof set as I was born in 1990.”
While he was on vacation from work, Hudson decided to look up the values of his coins because he had not been collecting them since he was a kid. He saw the 1990 proof set was only worth a few dollars but noticed an article that said something like, “Look to see if you have a ‘No S’ Lincoln, and that changed everything.” He realized his Lincoln cent was missing the S. He was so excited that he joined a few Facebook groups and was told he should get it graded. As soon as it came back a few weeks ago, Randy Orre, one of our EVNEC monitors, told him he should post it there as he might get a story out of it since Orre knew I was already working on that topic.
The next discovery of two sets containing this rarity came from Dave Coulby of CoinHunters Auction House and Coin Shoppe in Edwardsville, Ill., who reported them to Numismatic News. His new employee, Jarod Mackeen, found both. Coulby said, “Jarod is new to numismatics and a fast learner. Jarod found both 1990-S No S pennies in the same original shipping box of five proof sets. We still have them and need to send them off to get graded.”
“Jarod is a newbie in the numismatic world. He has no background in coins, but since we had known him and his family for quite a while when he was looking for a change (no pun intended), we thought he would be a good fit for a junior numismatist position. Jarod is hardworking and coachable. In the short time of his employment, he has gone through more coins than most full-time coin dealers. Part of that work entails searching through proof and mint sets for a list of varieties and errors that I have prescribed him to look for,” said Coulby.
The Mint ceased the practice of adding mintmarks to the individual proof dies by hand in the mid-1980s and began punching the mintmarks into a separate Master Die for San Francisco and, from there, making the working hubs and working dies with the mintmark included. This should have eliminated the possibility of a proof die escaping the Mint without a mintmark. However, in this case, a Mint worker took a die intended to be processed as a business strike working die and processed it as a proof die, shipping it to the San Francisco Mint with other properly processed dies, where it was overlooked until it caught several hundred The Mint acknowledged finding “No S” cents in a run and destroying 145 of them. Obviously, more got away from them than they caught, including the three highlighted here. The Professional Coin Grading Service has certified 236, while Numismatic Guaranty Corporation has certified 100.
It should be noted that many coins get submitted and graded more than once by owners hoping to receive a higher grade on a resubmission. Additionally, graded coins are often crossed over to another grading service for the same reason or due to owner preferences for one service over another. Thus, reported population totals are almost always higher than the actual number of coins graded.
Have you checked your 1990 proof sets yet? If not, now is as good a time as any. Let us know what you find! Anyone finding any of these sets may contact Numismatic News at numismatics@aimmedia.com.
In closing, it is important to recognize that the circulating business strike version of the 1990 Lincoln cent does not bear a Mintmark for the Philadelphia issue. Only the proof 1990 cent without the S Mintmark is valuable. The business strike, during which over six billion were minted, is simply pocket change.
You may also like:
