Close AM

The US Mint produced two major varieties of the 1998 S Proof Lincoln Memorial Cent (Penny). The most common variety for the San Francisco minted 1998 S coin is the wide "AM" variety. In the word "AMERICA" on the reverse of the coin: The close "AM" meant that the letters "A" and "M" were very close and almost touching while the wide "AM" had the two letters separated much more. In Addition: The initials "FG" was closer to the Lincoln Memorial Building on the wide "AM" variety and it was further away on the close "AM" variety.