Last Head Scratcher from Last Submission. Mercury Dime 1925P.

First off I knew this coin would go MS63 at best. Hits on cheek and neck would keep it there or lower. Luster is Full and Fields are clean except for all of the Die Polish. Typical 1925P weak strike. Many pictures of the dime are attached. Click on them and blow them up to see what I am saying about the Fields on this dime. I really think its Mint State. Am I full of Poo Poo with my opinion?
Thanks.
Ken
0
Comments
Absolutely NOT MINT STATE. Take a look at the gray color on the top of the center bands in the image directly above. That is called "loss of luster."
Perhaps you should consider one of the grading classes the ANA has to offer. Good AU58's are hard to spot.
Sorry Sir, there is no gray area around any of the bands. If there is any question where there might be some rub its on the top of the axe and in my opinion that is just a weak spot. I think the graders thought some of the die polish on the obverse was hairlines.
Ken
And I might add...once you learn what loss of luster looks like on a coin, you'll need to learn how much is tolerated on each specific series of coins by the TPGS's or you will leave money on the table!
I'll tell folks to keep a strict personal standard for Uncirculated: "No trace of wear." Yet, hold your nose while you buy and sell sliders marked as Unc.
BTW, if this were a gold coin, it would probably be graded MS-63 as this amount of rub is usually ignored!
Thanks for all of the good advice. I guess my 30 years of grading Mercury Dimes has went down the tube on this one dime.
Ken
I'm also sorry Sir, You either see it or you don't. It is right on top of the middle of the center bands.
BTW, your images are EXCELLENT and you have done something most don't do by posting images in different orientations of the light. Again, EXCELLENT post OP!
I agree. To me obvious AU58, in a second or two or viewing.......and that's how long the graders look at your coin.
And I am not trying to be a smart a@@ or know-it-all when I say that, so please don't take it that way.
NOT AT ALL!
First, did the TPGS grade it AU?
I had to write that to make you smile a little.
Second: You are to be commended for posting an excellent "teaching post!"
Third: I'm joking but at thirty years of grading dimes, you are still a rookie!
The real Third: Color is the most important thing with grading. Friction wear and stacking ruin the original surface luster on a coin. Silver turns lustrous "white' to gray.
Forth: No matter what your coin is graded. the most important thing anyone who views this thread should take away is this: You MUST be able to see the change of color on this coin. IT IS THERE! Once you do, you and all (including the TPGS) the people who see this coin must decide if it is enough loss of luster to call the coin AU. It is a personal thing and the standard is different for many of us.
I saw a little rub on the coin..................but then again I've had many Buffalo Nickels rub me the wrong way.
Pete
So, what did it grade?
Inquiring minds want to know.
BHNC #203
Coin has a "slider" look to it, to me. Not just light rub on the high points (more than just the axe), but the fields have the slider look as well.
Looks to me like an AU58. Just enough wear in the right places to call it that way.
Looks like a slider,
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I am not sure what to say? It looks totally circulated from the images. I am wondering why you even sent it in if you thought it would max at a 63? That makes it a $60 coin at best.
@Fairlaneman
Where have you gone? Grade?
Old men take naps. It did go AU58 and was sent in looking to find a MS 25P in which I do not have any.
Ken
Looks a lot like some I collect.


Ecept mine are dirtier.
AU,
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
Insider2, was Knowitall2 already taken? You admitted in another post that you tend to rub people the wrong way. Your comments in this thread would be a fine example of that.
Ken - Going by the picks I would say 55-58. The lines on in the fields look like Circ lines not die polish lines. It definitely does not look MS to me.
I'm going by a pic and you have in hand. Also by the many Mercs that I have had come back from our host with a lower grade that I was expecting. I think circ Mercs and high end MS Mercs are much easier to grade than the AU-Low MS ones are.
JMHO
The reverse could pass for unc, but the obverse has clear wear. 58 is correct.
rainbowroosie April 1, 2003
@bolivarshagnasty
The most important thing anyone who views this thread should take away is this: You MUST be able to see the change of color on this coin.
I would also go for AU58. In the second photo, both wear and luster loss on the cheek is evident. The scattered hairlines about the field, which are randomly oriented, are a sign of light wear.
I would not be surprised to see a coin such as this one in an MS63 holder in today's market. I would not personally pay MS63 money for it, however. My grading standards haven't loosened up much since the OGH days. Some day, I will not be able to buy any slabbed coins at all once the market's idea of MS63 starts to align with my idea of XF45.
Ken
@Fairlaneman
I like this 1925 coin even better than the one in your first post! This looks like an easy 63! Too bad this one has a little spot behind the neck.
It is the same coin. Just some other pictures I took this afternoon. Pictures are deceiving are they not?
Ken
Same die crack, same nicks but one is a 58 and the second one is easily a 63...too funny
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Am I the only one that sees these 2 coins as the same coin.
I am not a Mercury dime expert, but the subject coin does not look Mint State to me. Again, I am no expert in the series. Post a Morgan dollar and I can help.
Sorry, but I honestly LOL'ed on that one
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
Looks 55 to 58 to me.
I should have known you guys were too good for that post. After one member practically accused me of trolling, I thought I would chum up the water and see who would take the bait. Probably should not have mentioned the spot so I'd be taken more seriously. Anyway, it gave me a chance to give some "agrees" and "likes" to the gentlemen who responded so nicely.
If it was mine, it would go details - cleaned, because of the wipe on the cheek
I would agree with the 58 grade... I do see enough loss of luster and slight wear to keep it from MS...Cheers, RickO
My first thought when looking at the images was AU58.