Large and Small Date Cents
These photos show the large and small date Lincoln cents from 1960, 1970, and 1982
This is the 1960 small and large date. The large date in on the left. Note the zero which is round and the top stem of the six which is not aligned with the lower curl. The zero on the small date is much narrower than on the large date.
The 1970-S small date (actually called the high seven) has the top of the 7 aligned with the 9 and the 0. On the large date (more properly called the low 7) the 7 is considerably below the level of the 9 and the 0. Also note the curve on the 9. On the high 7 it bends very sharply upwards. Note that the high/low 7 occurs only on the San Francisco mint coins.
These are the 1982 large and small date cents. The differences are very obvious because the large date is much larger and the numerals are fatter. Note the position of the date relative to the rim. On the small date the final 2 is well removed from the rim.
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