The Hook: The Last Season of the Wheat Ears
The Story: 1957 sits one year before the U.S. Mint retired the Lincoln Wheat reverse for good — the twin wheat stalks that had framed "ONE CENT" since 1909 gave way to the Lincoln Memorial design starting in 1959. This proof cent comes from the design's final full season, struck at the Philadelphia Mint on specially polished dies for collectors only.
The Object: Lincoln Wheat cent, proof strike, Philadelphia Mint, 95% copper / 5% zinc. NGC certified Proof 68 Cameo, Red — meaning genuine, NGC-recognized frost-on-mirror contrast, at the lighter of the two cameo tiers NGC and PCGS both use (Cameo, not the rarer Deep/Ultra Cameo). Full original copper-red color, no fading toward brown.
The Curation: Encapsulated by NGC, archivally stored, certification independently verifiable through NGC's public lookup.
The Case & The Acquisition: For the proof Lincoln cent date-run collector and the mid-century cameo specialist — 1950s proof dies lost their frosted finish quickly under repeated strikes on hard copper planchets, which is exactly why a genuine cameo-contrast example from this era, at any tier, is a real condition of rarity rather than a marketing label. Offered at $1,028.13 — confirm with Richard whether this reflects the actual asking price or a comparable reference figure before publishing.
The Hook: The Last Season of the Wheat Ears
The Story: 1957 sits one year before the U.S. Mint retired the Lincoln Wheat reverse for good — the twin wheat stalks that had framed "ONE CENT" since 1909 gave way to the Lincoln Memorial design starting in 1959. This proof cent comes from the design's final full season, struck at the Philadelphia Mint on specially polished dies for collectors only.
The Object: Lincoln Wheat cent, proof strike, Philadelphia Mint, 95% copper / 5% zinc. NGC certified Proof 68 Cameo, Red — meaning genuine, NGC-recognized frost-on-mirror contrast, at the lighter of the two cameo tiers NGC and PCGS both use (Cameo, not the rarer Deep/Ultra Cameo). Full original copper-red color, no fading toward brown.
The Curation: Encapsulated by NGC, archivally stored, certification independently verifiable through NGC's public lookup.
The Case & The Acquisition: For the proof Lincoln cent date-run collector and the mid-century cameo specialist — 1950s proof dies lost their frosted finish quickly under repeated strikes on hard copper planchets, which is exactly why a genuine cameo-contrast example from this era, at any tier, is a real condition of rarity rather than a marketing label. Offered at $1,028.13 — confirm with Richard whether this reflects the actual asking price or a comparable reference figure before publishing.
