Mercury Dime grading question

BigGreek

I've been getting more into mercury dimes recently and have
stared at my share of both slabbed and raw coins. My question
to the forum: I've noticed most dimes have an uneven strike
around the lettering and some appear to have parts of the
lettering scuffed off. On slabbed dimes, this doesn't seem to
detract much from the grade. What caused the scuffing? In
your opinion, how much would you detract from the grade due
to scuffed letters?

I don't have a microscope camera attachment, otherwise I'd
show examples.

darktone

I really don't know what you mean by scuffed letters but I am kind of guessing it's from a weak strike or worn die. mike

nwcs

The scuffing you're referring to may be die polish. Yes, the strikes of mercury dimes are often uneven. And even a fully split banded torch specimen can have weak peripheries near the rim. A well struck specimen all the way around is a true gem. Weakness does affect the grading, but it varies as to how much. Usually when I've seen some mushiness in the peripheral devices I don't find grades higher than 66.

CarlWohlforth

Scuffing would be when something scrapes across the coin. On Mercury dimes the top ends of the letters near the rim often seem flat. This is most often due to a weak strike. That would not affect the grade. Even on coins that are well struck in the centers and get the Full Band designation you can see weakly struck lettering.

The Mercury below is pretty well struck and has split bands. However you can still see that the top of the L and I in LIBERTY are not all there. Is that what you are talking about?

CarlWohlforth

Hey maybe NWCS caught what you mean. Lots of Mercury dimes have pretty obvious die polishing. That wouldn't hurt the grade either. Polishing looks like the fields are scuffed or scratched but the lines are raised above the surface rather than a scratch into the surface. The coin below has lots but it doesn't show that well in the photo. It is most noticable in the lower right field.

nwcs

You're right, Carl, that die polish in and of itself doesn't affect the grade. But I think extensive die polish would. I've seen some that would scare Norman Bates.