This is Mike Locke's best attempt to date at a complete listing of all of the hub design changes to occur in US minor coins (non-gold) of the 20th century. Minor changes, particularly those caused by injury to the tooling are not noted. Date logotype changes are not noted unless the change is obvious. Last updated 12/27/98 Sort of the ultimate type collection. There are several question marks throughout this text. This indicates that I have an idea that a change occured but no concrete evidence. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. It is interesting to note that from my studies it would appear that while cents are the most collected denomination they are the least studied. All US coins appear with hubbed (actually punched into the master die?) dates starting circa 1907-1909. This does not however seem to have resulted in any visible change in the style of the date or the rest of the coin for any issue. The change is detectable by the complete absence of repunched dates or similar date positional varieties. For a number of issues, the hubbed date is crooked or poorly alligned; but it is so on all coins from all mints of that year. A "-" sign was put next to issues that are not available as proof or SMS, or that the proof issues differ slightly in design. The proof status of certain 1916 and 1917 issues is controversial. SMALL CENTS 1886-1908 Indian head cent 1909 Indian Head cent In 1909 the US mint started adding the date to the master die and made minor revisions to the hub. Most notably, the designer's initial is larger. Correction provided by Rick Snow. A hub of 1908 over hub of 1909 cent variety is known to exist. Could a hub of 1908 cent dated 1909 exist? ?? According to Snow, in 1908 the mint started manufacturing its own small cent planchets. Presumably, these are indistinguishable from the prior issues? 1909 Lincoln cent with V.D.B. Doubtful evidence exists that V.D.B. was hand punched into the individual dies. This is a earliest minor coin that I can verify with a matte, textured finish over the entire coin. This type of finish showed up on some gold coins in 1907. 1909-1917 Lincoln cent without V.D.B. Appears to be the same obverse and reverse hubs as above, just no V.D.B. Rumor has it that the initials were removed because Barber did not want people to think that he had anything to do with this design. Some dies of 1909 appear to have been made from hubs that had the V.D.B. filed off and mint employee correspondence exists to back up this observation. It is possible that a "filed" master hub was used for a long time after 1909... the 1910VDB cent is still a bit controversial at this time. Some evidence exists that the hubs were modified each year during this time span. See notes below. -1918-1934 or 1935 VDB on shoulder ?? Not clear if the old hub was reworked or if a new hub was made. Fields still matte and textured, unlike what Breen claims in the encyclopedia. 1918 and 1919 show a *lot* of fine detail when early die state and fully struck. Detail slowly decays up to the last year. Hmmm, David Lange agrees with Breen that a new hub was cut from new plaster in 1916. On well struck specimens it can be seen that the later date coins have *more* detail in the beard, with a series of very fine incused marks running along the jaw marking the beard. On the earlier coins this is seen only as a series of very fine (sometimes blurred together) wavy lines. Lange notes that 1916 proofs show more fine detail than any other year. Others disagree on the above point. An alternative view is that in 1916 the hub was hand "re-engraved": note how all of the new details are incuse. That the VDB was also added by hand in 1918, but that a new hub was cut in 1919. Note changes in the bow tie details. I have not gotten adequate coins to confirm or deny this point of view. Voiced by Robert Julian. 1935 or 1936-1958 Obv revised, coat and checks smoothed, new detail in hair Now the mint has finally reverted to smooth fields. ?? Did the reverse change at the same time? ?? The fine details on Lincoln's face and forehead are gone, while new incuse details appear in Lincoln's hair, particularly at the back of the head. New hub or retouch? ?? Quarters and Dollars were revised in 1934. Is there a corelation? ?? In 1952 Lincoln's beard becomes a smooth rounded hump. The outline of the beard and neck become smooth. It is not at all clear to me if the old hub was polished smooth or if a new hub was made. It is clear that there was a sudden and permanent loss of detail in the middle of that year. I have seen what appears to be an old hub over new hub proof dated 1952. Craig Sholley has suggested that this change indicates that the mint made a new master die from an old working hub. Neither the 1935 nor the 1952 hub changes are noted in any reference that I can find. Some claim that the shape of VDB from 1919 through 1968 proves that a single hub was used over this span. The coins that I have seen show no evidence of such continuity; the shape of VDB varies considerably over the years. Also from Robert Julian. -1943 Steel alloy 1942-1946 "shell case brass" composition The above are not really design types, but many people like to include them in a type set anyway. The shell case brass isn't easily distinguished from the regular bronze. The shell case brass cents aren't really made from shell casings, but tin was eliminated from the alloy. The steel cents are often better struck than their bronze counterparts. Most 1942 and many 1946 cents are brass, according to mint records. I do not know of any attempt to verify these alloys. 1959-1962 Bronze alloy memorial reverse ?My 1960 small date cents show more detail, as per the pre-1952 hub. ?Maybe I'm just seeing things... 1962-1967 As above, brass alloy As for the WWII brass cents, there is no easy way to distinguish these and again I know of no effort to verify the alloy. 1968 Lettering thickness revised 1968 cents have an extraordinarily smooth and featureless effigy of Lincoln. The lettering is measureably thicker in cross section than for prior years. Not noted in the reference books. VDB is very sharp on coins of this year, unlike those prior. 1969 Obverse revised, effigy smaller, low relief This new effigy is similar to the original 1909, but not identical. Much detail restored, but the relief is very low so that the coins and dies wear poorly. 1970-1972 Obverse revised, higher relief portrait Virtually identical to the above, but appears to be higher relief to me. Not noted in reference books, excepting the 1970-S high vs low 7. Note how some collectors use the low relief of the lettering as diagnostic for the 1970-S high 7 (not reliable, since an overpolished low 7 die will also have low relief lettering) 1973 Obv & Rev revised, FG larger 1974-1982 Obv? & rev revised, FG smaller 1982-1985 Zinc, with revised obverse Color changes to pink-red. Full red bronze vs copper-coated zinc cents are very obviously different colors when viewed under a good light source. All of the combinations of die changes and planchet changes exist. -1983,1985-D Brass plated zinc Another planchet variety; this one a bit controversial, since the brass color can be simulated by heating a struck coin. Correct coins should be coin brass, the same color as pre 1982 cents; not bright yellow. According to the mint report on these, they should be classified as a mint error rather than a planchet type. The official explanation is that the planchets were overheated during annealing, resulting in zinc migrating into the copper (thankyou, Alan Herbert) 1986-1989 Zinc, reverse revised, fine steps ?? With a sample of only a few coins, 1989 on appear to have more detail on the reverse than 1986-1988. In particular, the steps are more well defined and the vertical lines on the columns are distinct (1986-1988 the lines are essentially non-existant). More research needs to be done to determine if I am seeing die states/strike quality or an actual change. Pointed out to me by Bob Roach. 1990- Revised obverse, "sharp" whiskers The two above are really obvious and not in any of my references. ***************************************************************** FIVE CENT NICKELS 1883-1900 Liberty, with cents, original "with cents" reverse 1901-1912 Liberty, new reverse, "close leaf" above upper left stand of V 1913 Indian head, raised Five cents The Indian head nickel has the strongest texturing of any regular issue US coin. It is most bold on this issue. 1913-1915 Indian head, recessed Five cents (obv above, rev below) The original issue would not stack, and the "Five cents" tended to wear off very rapidly, bringing back memories of the 1883 disaster. Obverse field texture more subtle. 1916-1938 Indian head, revised obv: letters sharper, head outline changed Field texture on the obverse all gone. Reverse fields remained textured to the end, although the texture fades a little each year. 1938 Jefferson, recessed top step, small obverse star Steps are most noticeably different at the ends. Later hub has the center 4 steps "in a box" and not touching anything. 1939-1956,1959-1965 Jefferson, no initials, box around steps, larger star 1939 exists with the reverse of 1938. 1940-D comes well struck in this date range. ?? It is not clear if the hub of 1959 is the same or different than the hub of 1939? They sure look the same. 1942-1945 As above, silver alloy Another planchet variety. 1957-1958 Large star on obverse 1966 Jefferson, initials added (obv next, rev previous) Very tough to find really nice and fully struck. Possibly the most expensive nickel in this set with full strike (Ramapaugh estimated $200 for a five stepper=not quite fully struck) I remember sorting through nickels when these were new and asking myself what steps are they talking about? I don't see any steps! 1967-1970 Jefferson, Door, window lines and porch strengthened 1971-1972 Reverse revised, tops of doors & windows angled, top step thinned 1971 come well struck 1972-1976 (not 1972 prf) Obverse revised, adams apple reshaped 1977-1981 Obv and rev revised, hair and doors strengthened 1982-1989 Obv & rev revised, letters thinner, details sharper Breen has good pictures of each of the above changes in the encyclopedia 1990?- Obverse revised, more hair detail esp. at ear The changes here are subtle. It is more of a strengthening than an overt change of design. I see evidence of another change in 1993 or 1994, but it is tough to really tell. However, it should be noted that starting in 1990 a full 6 step strike became the norm rather than the exception. ***************************************************************** DIME 1892-1905 Barber liberty 1901-1916 Barber liberty, obv and rev revised Leaf and ribbon shapes changed noticeably. Great pictures in Lawrence's "Complete Guide to Barber Dimes" ?? I see evidence of texturing being applied to Liberty's face on later date coins. I am not sure if this starts with the 1901 hub change or later. It only shows on very high grade coins, at least AU55. 1916-1917 Winged Liberty obv hub #1, strong hair over ear 1917 Winged LIberty Obv hub #2, weak hair over ear Several 1916 and one 1917 proof are rumored to exist. The 1916 proof examined by Lange is heavily textured in both field and devices, similar to early Lincoln cents. It is not known which hub was used for the 1917 proof. 1918-1945 Winged liberty, cut mark at upper front of wing, relief revised The differences between these three is more obvious than most minor hub changes. Good pictures in Lange's "Complete Guide to Mercury Dimes". Lange does not note the very obvious "cut mark" detail change, although it does show in his photos. The hubs deteriorated very noticeably over this long run (the continuous deterioration can be used to prove that the hubs did not change, btw), so earlier date coins are better candidates for a type set. -1946 Roosevelt, Y to forelock 0.85mm 1946-1964 Silver Roosevelt obv revised: Y to forelock 0.65mm, JS bolder The difference between the two is measureable, but quite subtle. Despite how "common" these dimes are considered, nice early die state well struck 1946 dimes are a serious challenge to locate. Check for full "IN god WE trust" and full band at the base of the torch. "E PLURIBUS UNUM" often weak also. 1965-1980 Clad Roosevelt 1981-1985 Obv & rev revised: JS smaller, rev higher relief, flame nearly touches S, dots larger 1986- Obv & rev revised, IN & WE moved, AM & CA separated, details sharpened All of these Roosevelt hub changes are also described in Breen's encyclopedia ***************************************************************** QUARTERS 1892-1900 Barber, wing covers most of E (unlike some 1892) 1901-1916 Obv & rev revised: wings longer, ribbon ends reshaped, leaves and berries larger The differences here are more subtle than on the dime. Same note about texturing on Liberty's cheek as on the dime. 1916 Standing liberty with squarish bottom cloak fold and head into the dots By far, the most expensive coin in this type set. Some consider this to be a pattern. 1917 As above with more oval bottom cloak fold, leaves smaller, toes repositioned, star repositioned, head repositioned One 1916 proof and one 1917 proof have been located. The 1917 proof is spectacular, btw. -1917-1924 As above, but breast plate added and reverse reworked Prior issues would not stack and bare breast was too controversial. Hair style redone per McNeil's original. Breen claims a date logotype change in 1924. I cannot verify this claim. -1925-1930 As above, but date recessed -1932-1934 Washington, weak motto -1934-1935 Obv motto strengthened (all 1935 are this type) Dollars show a similar revision on the same year. -1934-1937 Obv motto emboldened Letter shape differs from the above -1938-1943 Profile sharpened -1944 Profile sharpened again, initials revised, now barely legible -1945-1964 Initials cleaned up from 1944 mess Proof coins have a different reverse than the regular issues. A few business strike coins have been found with the proof style reverse, this may indicate that the mint was saving money by putting worn proof dies to work making business strikes. 1965-1974 Clad, relief changed Through 1972, proofs have a different reverse than business strikes. 1976 Bicentennial, Cu-Ni clad 1977-1981 Obv and rev revised: TRUST lettering changed, leaves reshaped 1982-1988 Revised obverse, lettering moved slightly Breen dates this change to 1983 All of the above hub changes from 1917 to 1988 are noted in Breen's encyclopedia. 1989-1994 Revised obverse, detail added to hair Not in my references 1995- Revised obverse, more hair detail Coin World has been claiming that 1996 has further increase hair detail. I see no difference. The 1995 revision was announced with much hoopla in Coin World. ***************************************************************** HALF DOLLARS 1892-1900 Barber design 1901-1914 Obv revised, ear different Change is very slight in comparison to the dime or quarter Not-so-good photos in Lawrence's "Complete Guide" Careful study of several dates of Barber halves indicates that the ear details vary almost, if not, annually. 1915 New date logotype (obvious) I have not been able to find nice enough coins to study at my leisure to determine if the half dollar also has texturing as noted on the dime and quarter. 1916-1917 Walker, low relief obverse Heavily textured fields and devices. Proofs are extremely rare. -1918 Walker, revised collar details Details around Liberty's collar altered. -1919-1921 Walker, hand cut skirt lines Skirt lines apparently hand cut onto the master tooling. Early die stage examples of this date range give the impression that the coin has been re-engraved. 1923-1936 Obv skirt lines redrawn Not noted in Breen or Bruce Fox's book. Plain enough to see. New skirt lines added at the front bottom of the skirt. Skirt lines not as bold as 1919-1921, but it is not clear if that is because of wear to the tooling or if the tooling was recut. Hub may have been revised to be slightly larger in 1928, as indicated by a change in the rim width. While the proof is not rare, you'll hurt yourself buying one of these very popular coins. It is possible to likely that all of the revisions noted above from 1918-1936 are actually reworked, rather than new hubs. 1937 Obv revised: rays shortened & narrowed I have suggested that this is a worn or repaired master die. Bruce Fox rejected that idea. Another pricey proof. 1938-1947 Obv revised: leaves reshaped, rays lengthened, drapery details added In either 1937 or 1938, the image was made slightly larger These detail changes are extremely subtle, however the size difference is easily measured and is noticeable to the naked eye by observing the width of the rim. Mint records show that a new hub was made this year, according to Bruce Fox. 1948-1959 Franklin, type 1 eagle (4 feathers to left of perch) Type 2 eagles appear on proofs from 1956 to 1963. A very few business strikes also appear with the type 2 eagle, from 1958 and 1959. See notes under silver Washington quarters. -1960-1963, type 1 eagle It appears that the obverse hub slowly deteriorated until 1959, at which time a new hub was created. Besides the restoration of detail, the hub of 1960 cannot easily be distinguished from the hub of 1948. On the sharpest, earliest coins, Franklins's hair shows details throughout, with no "bald" areas. 1964 Kennedy, silver Proof exists with or without high relief detail in the hair. Business strikes only come low relief. 1965-1969 Kennedy, silver clad 1970 As above, effigy larger (largest?) Not released to circulation. 1971 Kennedy Cu-Ni clad, effigy much smaller 1972-1973 As above, effigy slightly larger 1974-1980 As above, effigy slightly larger 1976 Kennedy Cu-Ni bicentennial 1981-1982 Effigy enlarged again 1983-1986 Obv lettering farther from rim, hair detail greatly reduced ?? The coins in my collection from 1973-1986, except the bicentennials seem to have texturing on Kennedy's face and neck. Was there a hub change in 1973? The hair is so featureless that you might think Kennedy is bald. Don't mistake this for wear. Even the proofs in this date range come with mushy details and weak strikes, especially 1983-1984. 1987-1988 Rev revised, relief greatly reduced, effigy cheeks smoothed Starting with this issue striking quality improves markedly. 1989-1990 Hair detail added, effigy much smaller 1991-1994 Hair details emboldened Details bolder, with no apparent positional changes 1995- Redraw obverse: More hair detail, relief changed, smaller letters, WE does not touch bust, etc ?? I have a 1990 half with bold reducing lathe lines on the obverse. This is a good indication that a new hub was cut in 1990. It may or may not indicate that the hub was revised in 1990. These coins appear to be made from the hub of 1989. ?? The hub changes to the Kennedy half were all identified by me. Except the changes in alloy, and the hub change of 1971 none are noted in any of my references. It has been suggested to me that the ever expanding effigy may simply indicate deformation of the hub from repeated use or changes in the die processing/alloy (thanks Craig Sholley) If anyone can locate a Gem well struck set that is available for examination, it would be greatly appreciated! ***************************************************************** SILVER DOLLARS 1878-1903 Morgan 7 tail feathers, slanting arrow feathers 1900-1904 Rev revised: stars larger, left wing angle wider These come struck better than the prior issues. Proofs are available, but pricey. 1921 Morgan new obverse and reverse 1921 Morgan 16 berries, infrequently reeded ?? 16 vs 17 berry types exist, test marks on the dies? ?? Infrequently reeded is the only collar die variety in this list. Do any other collar varieties exist of other 20th century years or denominations? The relief of 1921 Morgans is markedly different than other years, resulting in distinct "weak strike" symptoms. This issue is notorious for weak strikes and ugly coins. The "1901" hubs had been destroyed. Mr. Morgan did his best to recreate the old design, while also (very unsuccessfully, I might add) trying to fix the old striking problems. Early die state full strike specimens command a 10x or more premium. True proofs are extremely rare. Proof like "Zerbe proofs" are very rare. 1921-1922 High relief Peace Tough to find with a good strike. Never fully struck. 1922-1928 Low relief Peace 1921 and 1922 proof Peace dollars are extremely rare. The 1922 proof Peace dollars exist in both high and low relief formats. 1922 high relief dollars were made in the thousands, but only one business strike has ever been found and it is well worn and could be a circulated proof. They may differ from the 1921s, as implied by mint employee correspondence. See commentary in David Bowers' "Silver Dollar Encyclopedia". 1922 dollars (all mints) come with "three hills right of crag" and "two hills right of crag" reverses. Other minor differences are also visible on these two reverses. The differences are slight and do not appear to be positional. It is not clear if this denotes some sort of defective master hub or an actual change in design. The "three hills" reverse is seen on all later dates. -1934-1935 Obv revised: motto font changed See similar change for 1934 quarters. Bowers attributes this change to a better reduction lathe, a plausible and probable explanation. -1935-S Rev revised: fourth ray added below "ONE" These come pretty nice on average, but are not inexpensive for who knows what reason. -1971-1972 Ike, T1 reverse: earth flat and not round Usually weakly struck in center. Proofs are silver clad. -1972 Ike, T2 reverse earth highly raised, caribean islands poorly defined This one is harder to find than you would think. Proofs are silver clad. According to Kevin Flynn, there is only one die pairing of this variety and mint records indicate that it was made unintentionally from a proof die that got set in a business strike press. 1972-S proofs have a different obverse with a smaller logotype "LIBERTY". These are also known to exist on the business strike coins, presumably also due to an error in the mint. 1972-1978 Cu-Ni Ike T3 reverse: earth more natural looking, Obv strengthened eagles breast strengthened Despite the substantial increase in relief, these come better struck than their predescessors. This reverse not seen on 1972-D or 1972-S Ikes. 1976 Cu-Ni bicentenial type 1 obverse & reverse bicentenial type 1 Ikes obverses are similar to the obverse on 1972 silver Ikes. Usually weakly struck at periphery, particularly P coins. 1976 Cu-Ni bicentenial type 2 obverse & reverse All bicentenial Ikes have hub defects on the reverse. It is much more noticeable on the T1 reverse as a 5/16 inch circular depression in the center of the design. Numerous arcs can also be seen on the moon and elsewhere. The appearance implies lathe lines which have been polished to "clean them up", but they are too vague to really classify. Weak strikes and bag marks on the business strike coins can obscure these defects. The possibility exists for type1/type2 obverse/reverse mules. 1979 Small effigy Susan B Anthony: so called "Far Date". Date spaced evenly between effigy and rim. 1979-1981 Large effigy Susan B Anthony: so called "Near Date". Date much closer to rim than to the effigy. Note that the rim width is the same on all Suzy bucks. The difference is that the central device was made larger on the "near date" pieces while the effigy to date spacing remained the same; thus the date was "pushed" down towards the rim.