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Terri --- I know very little about minting varieties. I cannot answer your question about 'close AM' coins, which is more valuable.
To be an 'official' minting variety, your coin needs to be in Bill Fivaz's "Cherrypickers Guide to Die Varieties." This book describes the variety in detail and gives catalog values. Please get a copy. It's a super book. My copy is 28 years old, so it's not much help right now!
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Simply lol at the word STATES. And if the “A” it closer to the right or closer to the second letter “T” then you have a closed AM if it’s equally spaced it’s not. Plus the first three letters in America won’t be equally spaced.
Ie. the A M and the
M E this is not a closed AMie. the AM and the M E is a closed AM
it’s not always easy to see but the the letter A is a sure thing. I’ve got a 1992 that in many angles it’s touching but it’s an illusion. Your photo looks like it’s touching so post a picture of the word states If it looks like this
S T A T E S Not a closed AM
S T AT E S Yes is a closed Hope this helps clarify it better. It took me a few months to accept the one I had wasn’t the diamond in the ruff I hope yours is!
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Trust me if it is and it looks overwhelming that it is and it’s not before 1992 then it easily between $10-$20,000
if someone bought one for $1.98 then I’ll buy as many as you have. The years that have been valuable is the 1992 and 1992D, the closed Am wasn’t used until 1993 so the 1992 and 1992D are valuable. Then the 1994, 1995, 1997,1998 and the most valuable not including the 1992’s is the 1999.
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Hello. I only collect Lincoln cents because I was born on his birthday which is February 12. Only I was born 100years and 6 weeks from the time the slaves were freed. But to answer question there’s no way that $1.98 is one. I’m the world of collecting it’s not how old it is but how rare it is. I myself am not sure if a 1994 even exists but … I wrote a better explanation that will explain why as the last time I explained what look for so…
What close or wide AM refers to is the AM in AMERICA on the reverse side of a Lincoln cent. The dates to watch for are 1992, 1992-D, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
To better understand why these are valued by collectors, you first need to understand how they came to be. In 1993 the mint changed the reverse design of the cent that better spaced the letters on UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. This new reverse design was accidentally used on an unknown number of 1992 and 1992-D cents. To date only a few examples of each have turned up.
Just the opposite is true for the 1998, 1999, and 2000 cents. The wide variety is the more valuable on these dates, but their value is considerably less than the 1992. They are still valued by collectors and worth finding.
The reason for the wide AM variety on the 1998 – 2000 cents is different than what happened in 1992. The reverse design for Proof cents from 1994 to 2008 was supposed to have the wide AM in AMERICA and the business strikes were supposed to have the close AM. Some of the dies intended for Proof strikes only were used to make an unknown number of business strikes in 1998, 1999, and 2000. It is these coins that have the wide AM. Also, some the dies intended to be used on the business strikes were used to strike Proof coins in 1998 and 1999. These Proof coins have the close AM and are also valued by collectors