Greetings. Simply want opinions on what grade you would give these two Mercs. Reveal later. Thx.

Daniel777

Creg

Welcome—Members want to know why you ask since you have the grade before your eyes. If it is a gripe about the results that the TPG gave it, then members are wary of the direction to which these threads tend to move. Simple is good, but simply does not happen here often.
Perhaps revealing your opinion will catalyze some replies.

They’re lovely coins.

PTVETTER

Grades aside, they are better than some have in the mercury dime sets

sellitstore

My first thought was "Yow!" and I rarely use that expression. They both look VERY nice to me but photos often don't capture the very slight differences between a 65, 66, 67 or 68.

jmlanzaf

AU58 (Reverse of the 17 looks like it may have evidence of mild wear)

MS66

starsandstripes

Rough Swipe
17 AU58
26 MS65 FB

Shurke

1917 - 65FB.
1926 - Bands look a little weak in the center, so 66.

CRHer700

1917-66FB-looks really nice to me, but the lighting could be hiding marks.
1926-65maybe FB-as Shurke said, the bands look a bit weak in the center. Too weak, maybe not.

Bikergeek

I'm in at 64FB and 65

Copperindian

1917 - 65
1926 - 66

No FB on either.

Walkerguy21D

@Shurke said:
1917 - 65FB.
1926 - Bands look a little weak in the center, so 66.

My guesses also.

ifthevamzarockin

Welcome to the forum!

I saw this when you first posted it last night.
You had smaller images attached that didn't enlarge well, great job on noticing that and correcting it with larger images.

The 17 just doesn't look quit right to me, it may just be the quality & lighting of the TV.
It looks a little washed out or maybe a little over dipped long ago.
I can't decide Unc Cleaned or MS-65

The 26 MS-65FB

oldabeintx

Gem for both. Bands don’t look full, but the photos might mislead. Very nice coins for a merc set, but setting a high bar.

remumc

1917 MS66FB, 1926 MS67FB

Copperindian

@Daniel777: thanks for your dissertation post. Actually a good read. I’m not going to advise you; I’ll leave that to others. I like the coins, though; continue to enjoy them like you already have.

Daniel777

Greetings. Simply want opinions on what grade you would give these two Mercs. Reveal later. Thx.

Daniel777

This was my first post on this site. A hardy thanks for all the rapid responses.

To the comment concerning my potential disappointment in the grades? You are correct. I showed to other highly regarded coin folks not from this site, that have been in this business a long time. The concensus is similar grade opinions here that you folks suggest, less the AU58. None said that. MS65/66 FB was the average. For the 1926 a 67 was thrown in there a time or two as well. These coins look better in hand, sharp looking with excellent luster and cartwheeling. Though a nice initial look with TrueView, it cannot give the entire picture (no pun intended :-)).

Short story. For the AU58 thinkers. I had a 1925 Commemorative Stone Mountain 50C. Gorgeous tones. Strong strike IMO.
I was convinced mid 60's. Had to be. Someone I showed suggested it was an AU58 all day. Only one to say that. His grandfather had taught him well he noted. No one else came near an AU58. I thought he was blind. Came back an AU58 (emoji facepalm). Well, I eventually learned why. Those 'small' things. It made me more grounded in how I look at coins now. I no longer send coins to be graded with unrealistic expectations. Makes it much better. Also makes higher-than-expected grades more satisfying. Now? Someone says AU58? I consider it. Meh...it's a continual learning curve.

Note: Yes, I noticed pictures were too small as I shrunk them thinking quicker load, etc., but did not work out. Hence, corrected. Appreciate the appreciation :-).

So...grades:

1917 - MS63 FB
1926 - MS63 FB

Not losing sleep over this. Was just curious what other folks thought. YES, graders see things we don't. I get that. Even very small differences can make a large grade movement either way. I did compare numerous Merc TrueView's (keeping the baseline consistent) against these graded coins to see if I can pick up on why they were not given a higher grade consideration. Learning curve expansion. As far as I can tell using that method, and other opinions, slab comparisons, I do believe they can go higher. That does not mean I am going there. Had these for a few years now.

However, I have read countless comments from folks far more experienced than myself, that sometimes it's best to leave it and move on. Others? Crack um out and send raw again. Others? Leave slabbed and send for a reconsideration. Others? Send in for regrade where TPG does not see the original grade. Others? Get a life. And other happy suggestions. Again, just a learning curve for me. Not a novice, but definitely not an expert.

If anyone would like to chime in and make a suggestion? Fire away. No matter the grade, as old as these are, these puppy's are seriously nice copies of the beloved Mercury Dime. I just thought they deserved a little better. Then again, the TPG may have correctly said maybe not with the assigned grades. Thx for all the input thus far.

(yea...I could have said all this in one paragraph. Lol. But I tend to over-explain my adventures. :-))

oldabeintx

Not sure it would be worth it other than as an experiment, but a sticker might be in order.

coinbuf

I'm late to this thread, my first though on the 1917 was MS62FB as the photo of the coin looks like the luster is low or impaired. But I would have though MS65FB on the 1926 so that one is a bit of a head scratcher.

hummingbird_coins

@coinbuf said:
I'm late to this thread, my first though on the 1917 was MS62FB as the photo of the coin looks like the luster is low or impaired. But I would have though MS65FB on the 1926 so that one is a bit of a head scratche

Early issues tend to have satiny luster rather than "cartwheel" luster.

Jacques_Loungecoque

What the heck….
17 - 63
26 - 66+ FB

Shurke

@Daniel777 said:

1917 - MS63 FB
1926 - MS63 FB

Not losing sleep over this. Was just curious what other folks thought. YES, graders see things we don't. I get that. Even very small differences can make a large grade movement either way. I did compare numerous Merc TrueView's (keeping the baseline consistent) against these graded coins to see if I can pick up on why they were not given a higher grade consideration.

I’m curious about the possibility of minor hairlines on your coins. As a series, mercs in particular seem to frequently pick these up, and it isn’t uncommon to see very gem looking mercs grading out at 63 & 64 levels.