In the 1960s, many collectors sought error coins with a small break between the “B” and the “E” in “LIBERTY” on Lincoln cents. Most of the B.I.E. errors occurred in the 1950s when the Mint released thousands of coins with this type of error. By the 1960s, this error type became scarcer as dies breaking in this specific spot did not occur at the same frequency as in the 1950s.�
Searching over 250,000 coins in the last few years, I have found a few coins with B.I.E. errors in the 1990s, but none dated in the 1970s and the 1980s. Since this error type is not of any significant value and these coins are not usually encapsulated, there isn’t enough information from collectors to obtain credible counts of these errors.�
By: Stan McDonald author and numismatist�