1922 No D 1C Strong Reverse, BN MS (PCGS#3285)
The March 2012 Baltimore Auction
- Auctioneer
- Stack's Bowers
- Lot Number
- 1511
- Grade
- MS63
- Price
- 32,200
- Lot Description
- 1922 No D Lincoln Cent. FS-401, Die Pair II. Strong Reverse. MS-63 BN (PCGS). CAC. Secure Holder. A satiny deep golden-brown specimen with lively underlying luster and a trace here and there of mint orange iridescence among the devices. Choice for the grade with surfaces that hold up amazingly well to magnified examination -- we venture to say this is the sort of coin the current numismatic marketplace considers "PQ." Obverse devices soft at IN GOD WE, the balance of the design relatively strong in this die state, though certainly nowhere as sharp as the reverse. No Philadelphia or San Francisco Mint cents were produced in 1922, though the Denver Mint churned out slightly more than 7.1 million pieces. Of that number a small proportion were struck from weak obverse dies, the end result two varieties known to today's collectors as the Weak D and No D varieties, the latter also known as the 1922 "Plain." The population of the No D variety in PCGS holders is scant across the board in Mint State-60 or finer, with fewer than five dozen grading <em>events </em>spread across the color spectrum of BN (42 pieces, MS-60 to 64), RB (14 pieces, MS-62 to 65), and RD (just two pieces, one each MS-63 and MS-64). The 1922 No D has long held a place of esteem among advanced Lincoln cent specialists, and we suspect there will be plenty of bidding activity when this undeniably choice 1922 "Plain" Lincoln cent has its day in the auction spotlight.<br />
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<strong>Numismatic Reflections by Q. David Bowers</strong><br />
If owning a high grade 1922 “Plain” is your cup of tea, and if research is also of interest, the two can come together to provide an interesting day or two of looking through past issues of <em>The Numismatist</em> and elsewhere, reading the many comments that have appeared in print concerning this curious variety. At least that is what I did when I was researching the series. Today perhaps it can be done more quickly on the Interne
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