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Just for Fun. Grade the Mercury Dimes.
Fairlaneman
Posts: 10,408 ✭✭✭✭✭
Comment on why you gave the grade you did on each coin. I will be back later today or tomorrow with the PCGS grades that were given.
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1928P
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1930P
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1931S
Ken
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Comments
Ken, I am going with 65fb, 66, 66.
The first could be hiding stuff under the color.
The second a few ticks in just the right spots
The last one has that small scratch right at the highpoint.
President, Racine Numismatic Society 2013-2014; Variety Resource Dimes; See 6/8/12 CDN for my article on Winged Liberty Dimes; Ebay
28 P 67FB
30P 65 Cut on the cheek
31S 66 Not as big cut on cheek
Mercury Dimes are hard to grade.
MS65 FB nice preservation and strong strike. Toning may hold it to a 64FB but guessing a 65FB
MS66 central bands aren't separated, what looks like good luster and good preservation
MS63 central bands aren't separated, haziness and noticeable marks on both the obv/rev
Edited to add my reasoning.
66 FB
65
66
Number 3 is my favorite.
“I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947)
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
65fb, 65, 65.
I really like Mercury dimes... but those, although likely 65/66, do not appeal to me. Cheers, RickO
64fb, 65, 63.
Professional Numismatist. "It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
65 FSB
65
64
What @thebeav said.
7FB, 6, 6 for the reasons mentioned by the others. The tics on the cheek I'm sure I very unnoticeable in hand, but they look really large in the photos. I'm a fan of toning and originality but I'm not crazy about any of the specific examples here.
My short thoughts about the 3 coins.
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1928P. By far the cleanest coin of the bunch. Probably lost a point because of the Negative Tone. Very Original. If I would have been the submitter of this coin some let down would have been had.
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1930P. Original and looks to be graded properly. The only real hit, on the cheek, is a little distracting.
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1931S. Very original. The hit on the top band did this coin no favors
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There you have it. From the comments it seems like responders agree with me on the 28P.
Thanks.
Ken
I am late to the party but my guesses would have been
65FB...knocked from 6 due to splotchy dark toning
66
64 due to muted luster/slightly negative toning
Coin 2 is my favorite.
Coin 3 least favorite.
Hi everyone. I'm also a mercury dime collector...and brand new here to this forum!
At least a few of these look really familiar, are they recent purchases? I could have sworn I saw that 31-S on westcoastcoinsoregon.com a month or so ago. I like all three, though eye appeal is a bit low on the 28. I think the 30 is the highest grade (mid to upper MS range?). The 31 appears to have some impaired luster, so lower MS range on that one.
The 31S was not from Westcoast.
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Now just for fun. The 28P I have is 64FB. The following one is 67FB. Sometimes I just wonder.
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Such is life.
Ken
Ugly tone shouldn't affect grade (in my opinion) so I feel the 28 got hammered. Unless the toning is hiding something not visible here looks more like 67FB to me.
I agree. I graded the lowest graded coin as the highest because the surfaces are much cleaner than the others. I guess it just got dinged for eye appeal.
63fb, 64, 62
Wow - guess the pics aren’t letting the luster show
They all look very nice. However, the toning on the 1930 reminds me of the examples I pulled from my grandfather’s album when I got his coins. That’s what got me back into coin collecting.
64B(subdued luster with negative eye appeal), 65, 64 in order.
Was going to type my guesses this morning but got sidetracked. Would have said:
64+FB
66
64+
Might have gone 65 on A and C but the toning looked possibly corrosive in places. Coin B was my favorite of the lot for both luster and color.
The 28 appears very clean, but I am not surprised to hear the OP said it had negative eye appeal. I had no idea what to guess. What if this coin was untoned -- then what grade?
The 30 is my favorite too. I've come to believe that a single image can show you what contact marks exist, and where they are, but they cannot always reliably indicate just how bad (or not bad) the mark looks with the coin in hand. I'm expecting the line on her cheek is not so noticeable in hand. I would've guessed 65. The 31S was hard to pin down as well, and 65 seems on the low end but fair.
PCGS has been a bit tight the last few subs for me for mercury dimes...IMO but we pay for an opinion at the end of the day.
While I agree with you that toning shouldn't affect the technical grade, pretty toning definitely can give a coin a bump up a grade or down in this case.
I am a former owner of the 1930. It is a great coin and very solid for the grade. I only put it to auction because I picked up another 1930, also in MS66 but with superior rainbow toning. The buyer made a good purchase in my opinion.