CoinTalk Members Discuss the Grade and Value of a 1998 Cent Posted as a Close AM Proof
On the CoinTalk forum, a member posting as "16ga" asked for an idea of the grade and value of a 1998 cent the poster presented as a proof, in a thread titled "1998 close AM." The poster judged it no higher than PR63 because of marks on the obverse and fogging on the reverse, and other members gave differing opinions. The source does not give the date of the posts.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We shortened and rewrote the headline, summary and body to match the source, posts in a CoinTalk forum thread. We made clear that the content is the posters' own statements and opinions and that the source gives no date, and removed unsupported material (calling the variety scarce, describing the coins as a set, a conclusion that condition drives value, and search terms such as PCGS, NGC, MS-65 and investment value). The previous headline was "1998 Close AM Proof Penny Discovered, Value and."
This article is based only on posts in a CoinTalk forum thread titled "1998 close AM." The source does not give the date of the posts. What follows are the posters' own statements and opinions, not confirmed facts.
A member posting as "16ga" shared a picture of a 1998 cent and asked, "Can anyone help give me an idea of the grade and value of this one?" The thread is titled "1998 close AM," and members referred to the coin as a Close AM.
The poster's own assessment
According to 16ga, the coin has multiple small lines and marks on the obverse and fogging on the reverse. Saying they were far from an expert on grading proof coins, 16ga guessed it was no higher than PR63 and probably not even that.
16ga wrote that it came in a group of random proof cents bought a few years earlier, and that they did not discover what it was until later. Asked whether they would have it graded, 16ga said probably not at this time, that they might if they ever decided to sell it, and that for now it had been put in an "air tite".
What other members said
Mr. Numismatist wrote that proofs are nearly impossible to grade from photos. The member first put the value at $1.00 to $2.50, then, noting they had missed that it was a Close AM, revised it to $150+ and said a PR65RD DCAM example sold on eBay recently for $144. After learning that the lines on the obverse were scratches, Mr. Numismatist said it was probably lower than PR-65 and the value lower as well.
Collecting Nut wrote that it is a nice Close AM and a proof, but not a 65 grade. RockyB wrote that if graded it could be worth 50 to 1000 dollars.
Source: CoinTalk, "1998 close AM."
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