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Discussion: Weakly Struck Coins
JrGMan2004
Posts: 7,557 ✭
I recently bought this 1944-S Mercury Dime. It's graded MS66 by PCGS. The only problem, is a very weak strike. Ms. Liberty's hair is very flat, lacking quite a bit of detail, the central bands of the fasces are almost completely flat to the reeds. The reeds in the lower half of the fasces are also very mushy and and weakly struck, in some places, the Reeds have melded together. The luster is also a little subdued due to the toning. See picture at the bottom of the post.
I showed this coin off over on the Registry forums, and got a lot of comments from people over there thinking it should be graded AU. I will tell you right now, there are no luster breaks on the flat spots, it is a weak strike, so please don't tell me that it's AU, because I've heard it a dozen times already, and explained a dozen and a half times that it's not wear, and I'm tired of people not listening to me. So, anyways, Fairlaneman brought up that in the PCGS grading book, a coin with a weak strike, normally would grade no better than MS62 or MS63. So, I asked DH on the Q&A "Shouldn't a weak strike like this keep this coin from getting into a 66 holder?" and this was his answer; "It is my view that MS66 coins must be "sharply struck." However, for non-band Mercury dimes, the bands can be somewhat flat, as long as the rest of the coin is sharp. But they can't be like a pancake and be MS66." Link to the Q&A
Now, opinions from the peanut gallery? What should I do with this coin? It's an obvious overgrade with how weak the strike is. I got it at a cheap price, so it's not really a major loss to me.
I showed this coin off over on the Registry forums, and got a lot of comments from people over there thinking it should be graded AU. I will tell you right now, there are no luster breaks on the flat spots, it is a weak strike, so please don't tell me that it's AU, because I've heard it a dozen times already, and explained a dozen and a half times that it's not wear, and I'm tired of people not listening to me. So, anyways, Fairlaneman brought up that in the PCGS grading book, a coin with a weak strike, normally would grade no better than MS62 or MS63. So, I asked DH on the Q&A "Shouldn't a weak strike like this keep this coin from getting into a 66 holder?" and this was his answer; "It is my view that MS66 coins must be "sharply struck." However, for non-band Mercury dimes, the bands can be somewhat flat, as long as the rest of the coin is sharp. But they can't be like a pancake and be MS66." Link to the Q&A
Now, opinions from the peanut gallery? What should I do with this coin? It's an obvious overgrade with how weak the strike is. I got it at a cheap price, so it's not really a major loss to me.
-George
42/92
42/92
0
Comments
If it's not a mechanical error send it to pcgs under the grade guarantee or pass it along to someone else if you don't want to keep it.
WS
I think it's weakly struck but decent looking. It's a cheap coin. It's not worth your time or money to pay for shipping on a regrade. So maybe they'll give it a 62 and send you a check for $10? Who cares?
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And placid: It is in the database as an MS66
42/92
mgoodm3...proofs aren't real coins
Seriously, though. While the strike is very weak, from the looks of it, the lustre is excellent, and I really can't see any contact marks--is it possible that it's really something more like an MS68 with a very weak strike netted down?
Jeremy
<< <i>G-man...how much was the coin?
mgoodm3...proofs aren't real coins
Maybe not, but they're as God intended coins to be.
And unfortunately, this coin, even with a nice strike, could never grade 67, much less 68. There's a quite a few small dings that don't show in the picture. And two fairly major dings on the fasces that don't show very well in the picture. I'll see if I can get a pic showing the hits a bit better.
42/92
As for the strike, it is probably the chrarcteristic that I worry about the least in the circulated 19th century gold coins that I collect. A lot of the strikes in the branch mint coins, frankly, stink. Originality, eye appeal, and lack of distracting marks rank far higher on my priority list.
JrGMan, I like the coin, based on the price you paid. It does look overgraded, especially if you say that there are ticks on the coin that I don't see in the image. Not a terrible deal. I would just keep it for personal reference (example of an overgraded slab), or sell it on eBay to someone who is building a cheap, PCGS certified coin. I agree 100% with XpipedreamR's comments.
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