1966 25¢ - SMS or Business Strike?
maddoe
Posts: 33 ✭✭✭
First of all, my apologies for the quality of the picture but hopefully it’s good enough to answer my question. And, I don’t have a pic of the reverse as it is currently in grading. This pic was taken in an airtight capsule so any visible marks are on the case, not the coin. The one exception is the R in LIBERTY. It has a small cut that’s almost perfectly oriented with the tops of the legs on the R.
Anyway, I checked on my order yesterday and the grades and images are ready but they didn’t post them. But, I did notice that they changed the 66 25¢ to an SMS. I hope it’s an error because it certainly doesn’t appear to be an SMS to me. It has very deep flow lines and the details in the hair just don’t look quite crisp enough to be an SMS. What do y’all think - SMS or BS? I’ve searched the archives and was able to find anything definitive.
Thank you in advance for the help. - Mat
Comments
I’m not sure, but a while back I posted a picture of a 1965 half dollar that looked like a business strike similar to your coin and I was told that the graders would probably just assume it’s a sms because in that condition the business strikes were too rare. Something like the SMS can sometimes look just like a proof but other times resembled a business strike.
Mr_Spud
Thank you for the reply. With the exception of the aforementioned mark on the letter R, the coin is essentially flawless as it relates to marks, scuffs, etc but to me it doesn’t look anything like an SMS. As I mentioned, it has deep flow lines that are much more pronounced than anything I’ve ever seen on an SMS. It even has a weird patch of flow lines that are in a completely different direction than those around it right above the “IN” that I’ve only seen occur on business strikes. It just looks too rough to be an SMS in my opinion.
I don't understand. I would be elated to receive that coin back as an SMS.
It has more value, as the Mint produced 2,261,583 as compared to 821,101,500 of the regular quarters for circulation.
Pete
You have made the mistake many folks do when they correlate original mintage with value. While it is true that the SMS has a far smaller original mintage when compared to business strike examples, it is not true that it has a greater value in the higher MS grades. The OP is obviously hoping for a higher MS grade (66 or higher) and the value of these as business strike issues (67 or higher) dwarfs the value of them as SMS issues.
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I could be wrong but I thought there were die marks that distinguishes the SMS coins - isn’t this is true for the extremely rare 64 SMS quarters? (I think that’s how they confirm them) so I would have just assumed true for the 66 as well
Guess I should think a little more before splaying my thoughts on here. I didn't read into the thread the right way,
Pete
the reeds and edge help determine type, can't see yours with the foam
For the longest time, I could only guess what distinguishes an SMS from a business strike (BS) for the dates 1965 to 1970-S. In these two examples, one can easily see some coarse sandpaper was used to rough up the dies, which I'm assuming were SMS dies, possibly prepared to make BS.
I also believe they would switch out the collar between the two types of coins resulting in a smoother 3rd side for proofs and SMS and a ladder rougher type for BS. And the rims are higher on proofs and SMS due to higher coining pressure or being struck twice. But many here already know this.
Leo
The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!
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I don't know why people on these boards react to preliminary information posted on the order entry page. The SMS designation was put on the coin by a data entry clerk. Your coins haven't been looked at by a grader yet. The SMS designation could go away when the coin is actually graded and attributed.
A lot of people don't look at the edge of coins to distinguish a business strike from a proof, or for that matter, an SMS coin from a regular one.
The SMS coin may not exhibit the same degree of sharpness and knife-edge as the proof, but there is a noticeable difference between the SMS and business strike coins.
The chamfered edge on the business strike is quite evident as compared to the square, knife edge on the proof. The overall quality and smoothness of the proof edge is noticeable.
Pete