1914 Penny

[Avocet]

Browsing eBay listings the other day I noticed a 1914 penny with the 4 seemingly well to the left of its usual position. Naturally I bought it; it's the lower of the coins in this picture:

The numerals look slightly higher on the regular coin, and I'm wondering if the exergue is a touch higher as well. Better examples would be needed to be sure. I don't see any doubt over the position of the 4, however.

I couldn't find a similar example currently listed on eBay, but there was one where the upright of the 4 points directly to the tooth, likely due to an anticlockwise rotation of the 4 rather than a lateral movement. It's in the post!

 

[absence of uniformity]

Might just be the pictures but another difference could be the 9 in the top image looks closer to being closed and the other 9 looks more open.

[Avocet]

I now have three different cases. The middle example seems to represent the normal type:

The bit of raised metal to the left of the 1 in the bottom coin is just a scrape.

Conventional wisdom seems to be that these sort of wanderings largely ceased after 1907. I can't be the only person who's ever looked at 1914 pennies.

[Coinery]

Definitely some date-widths (or differing tooth numbers on the entire obverse itself) going on there…clear differences imho! One caveat, however, my knowledge is seriously lacking in this area!

Narrow-date top, wide-date bottom? Or is that too hopeful, too exciting?

Edited 39 minutes ago by Coinery