Grade the Barber dime

mr1931S

These images are of a 1909 O Barber dime that I paid $120 for over a year ago. It is one of my favorite coins.

Give an opinion of grade, if you please.



reverse

obverse

XpipedreamR

MS64


I really like the reverse











Added: Unless it's AU58 or cleaned...I think the luster of these makes it extra hard to tell from a picture. If it is MS as I suspect, I think the little dings on the neck and face would keep it below 65.

Goober

I agree with the MS64 but I wonder if it was cleaned then AT

XpipedreamR

ditto, but not necessarily AT, probably just retoned

Dave99B

MS 63.5178

Nice.

Dave

Casey

I love it. If it is MS, I'd go with a 63 with the marks. I'm still looking for that date...

ARCO

I would MS64. If it were a key date like the 95-O it would slab as a 66 for sure!

mr1931S

I haven't done anything to this coin. It was represented as being "album toned" and supposedly came out of an old time set.

ccex

Nice dime! I would guess that it is an original coin and would grade MS-63 or perhaps 64. The reverse is gorgeous, and even the obverse makes my AU 1909-O dime look common in comparison.

dorkkarl

it's another slider!

au-55, appears artfully retoned too.

K S

marcmoish

MS63 if it's NOT at'd!



Marc

Betta285

looks like a perfectly fine MS 64 to me.....nice coin!!

mr1931S

I bought this coin at an au price, of course. However, I don't see any circulation wear on this coin. I think the strike is exceptionally sharp for this date/mint. Also, toning appears to me to be "original" even realizing how easy it is for a person, especially an owner, to "put the blinders on" for a coin they especially like.

I guess I'd have to submit the coin to PCGS to get the final verdict. If they think the toning is not artificial and there is, in fact, no circulation wear it seems to me MS64 grade is not out of the question. I would expect MS65 to be ruled out because of the obverse marks.

Thank you all for your comments.

dorkkarl

the reason you don't see "circulation wear" is becuase it's been doctored off. that coins' definitely circ'd. unless pcgs pukes on itself, the coin will not come back unc, expect a body bag.

K S

BigGreek

AU-58

Shamika

I'm not an expert in this series, but it looks MS64. That's a pretty big hit on the neck.

boyhowdy

Arco sure has that right...

<I would MS64. If it were a key date like the 95-O it would slab as a 66 for sure!>

If Heritage owned it we would see it in the King of Siam set.

Great strike for an "O"mint dime, both sides. Merc guys got their FB, Frankers got their FBL designation
but I look at the ear on a MS Barber dime. This one has the distinctive "rabbit ears" visible (upside down)
within the ear. Also, you have 3 distinct hair curls at the ear. Unusual for New Orleans.

On the reverse I look at how fully the bow knot is developed and look to see how highly built up the corn husk is on the left side of the ear. Outstanding on this example. Plus, the letters in the denomination look like they were fully impressed.

The obverse zit and hit on the bust probably cost a point each. With the usual disclaimers I'd guess 63 all day, shot 64 if the grader
values a great strike.

Send it to me for further study!

NICE DIME!

Steve

homemade

64

mr1931S

"the reason you don't see "circulation wear" is becuase it's been doctored off. that coins' definitely circ'd. unless pcgs pukes on itself, the coin will not come back unc, expect a body bag."

Dorkarl, how can wear be doctored off? What would the process be? As far as I know the only doctoring process that would work to cover up circulation wear on a sharply struck coin would be artificially toning the coin to accomplish such.

This coin hasn't been "whizzed", for example.

mr1931S

I would add that the images are very representative of the coin itself and not doctored.

I bought this coin on ebay from a prominent dealer who indeed speculated that the coin was close to but not actually uncirculated. I think the obverse marks influenced his thinking about this. The area around the headband on New Orleans Barber dimes almost always shows "weakness" and this coin is no exception. It's not wear though is my opinion.

If I were selling this coin, I'd have to call and price it at least MS62. I like this coin a lot. The vast majority of 1909 O dimes were weakly struck. One will occasionally see a circulated 1909 O that is rather sharp in appearance because it was originally well struck.

coinfreak499

63 I'll say.

Numismanic

MS63

ms70

I'd still go with 65. I've seen 65 coins in PCGS holders with worse dings.

fcloud

That extra nostral may keep it down to 64. I do like the coin though.

Cratylus

Gotta agree with dorkkarl on this one. The surfaces in many areas almost look "micro pitted", as if the coin was exposed to PVC that has since been cleaned away (look closely at the neck, the cheek, and ONE DIME). The head has an unusually "dull" silvery appearance, especially for a mint state coin. Note that this appears to be a PHOTO and not a scan. So where is the luster? The luster just doesn't jump out at you like it should on a normal MS coin. Perhaps it's just not a completely accurate photo. The toning looks a little suspect on the reverse especuially. Pinkish purple???

MS Details
PVC Damage/Cleaned
Artificial Toning

ms70

The surface of the devices on the obverse may be the result of dies that had rusted at some point. I've seen that before on many
Barber Dimes & on some very early Standing Lib Quarters. Notice it's only on the devices & not the fields where it would easily polish off.

my3cents

AU-58 too many fine lines and the hit on the neck

good lookin' coin at any rate

mr1931S

"Gotta agree with dorkkarl on this one. The surfaces in many areas almost look "micro pitted", as if the coin was exposed to PVC that has since been cleaned away (look closely at the neck, the cheek, and ONE DIME). The head has an unusually "dull" silvery appearance, especially for a mint state coin. Note that this appears to be a PHOTO and not a scan. So where is the luster? The luster just doesn't jump out at you like it should on a normal MS coin. Perhaps it's just not a completely accurate photo. The toning looks a little suspect on the reverse especuially. Pinkish purple???"

MS Details
PVC Damage/Cleaned
Artificial Toning

The periphery of the obverse exhibits "burnt" gold coloration all around and a bit of aquamarine coloration around "United States OF". Liberty's head does have a somewhat dull appearance and indeed has a slightly etched neck. Does PVC only affect the devices of a coin and not the fields? Or could the etch in fact be from a rusted die? How does one tell? I don't see any fine lines going in all kinds of directions which would indicate the coin was definitely polished. Nor do I see an etching in the obverse field. I do see a few very fine lines in the field in front of Liberty's face which run perpendicular to LIBERTY on the headband.

No pink or purple coloration can be seen on the reverse. The reverse has the same burnt gold coloration around its periphery with a trace of the aquamarine color seen in a few places on the corn ear side of the coin. "ONE DIME" does have a slight etched appearance but I see no etch anywhere in the reverse field. And I see no parallel fine lines on the reverse which is definitely the "better" side. The reverse has a prooflike appearance.

I'm starting to take you guys seriously who don't think this coin is uncirculated. You might be right. After all, the overall grade of a coin is supposed to be determined from it's worst side, right?

AU58 obverse. MS63-65 reverse. How does this happen?