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I knew that 1940 S Walkers had weak central strikes...but
jesbroken
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This 40 S takes the cake. Luster appears on reverse, muted obverse, but central coin features are awful. Such low pressures or worn dies, or both. Found on ebay.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
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Pancake
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
How much of a weaker strike before it would be considered an error?
(Listed with a BIN of $109.00)
that's a rare "struck in oatmeal" pattern
Superb collections are built more by omission than by addition.
The San Fran mint was a little lackadaisical with the halves that year!
Here's a well struck 40-s just for kicks: They do exist.
I've been curious: What if this one had been placed into circulation back in the 1940s for a few years and, when pulled, was in about VF/XF condition?
Due to the poor strike, would it receive an overall lower grade with PCGS? Like, VG or FINE?
That's the worst struck 40-S I've ever seen.
Pete
Ick
Smitten with DBLCs.
Owned one like the coin in OP pre-slab days and saw at least one entire roll just as weak. After the neccessary heavy discount on the one coin and slow to move, I had no interest in a roll of them.
To me, this is why one number representing the grade on a coin like that doesn't cut it. It demands a disclaimer indicating a very weak strike.
Who would be happy with having that coin in an MS-63 set compared to a more available standard stike 1940-S (still not as sharp as a typical type but a whole lot better than OP style) also in an MS-63 holder?
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
I am not going argue about the grade without the coin in hand, but I would personally not pay more than melt for that coin although I am sure it is technically worth more.
How does one distinguish wear from unc on this coin. How is it possible?
You have to look at the whole coin. On both sides. How would it be possible for a coin that's received as much apparent wear as that half has on the obverse to retain any luster on the reverse?
I've owned many bu 40 S Walkers and knowing from books they had this proclivity for central weakness, but had not seen one so terrible, then this coin is so far past what I imagined possible. I have a 13 S T2 Buffalo nickel with a very weak central strike, so I knew it was possible, but wow.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Light strike, grease, die wear, low die pressure, all of the forementioned????
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
That’s a cool one Jim😎
It would never sell as an error. The question is what is a coin with that week of a strike worth. I have no problems with a MS grade. I would personally value it at VF or XF money.
A die-trail set-up piece is a weakly struck coin and is considered an error.
With the degree of wear and lack of apparent luster on the high points how is that determined that is truly uncirculated
It would be a mistake to assume the lack of detail is due to wear.
How about the Rev on this guy? AU58!
I have a soft spot for pancake strikes, 45-p merc dimes are notorious
No one is arguing it is worn and deserving of a non MS grade. The question is will anyone pay MS money for it. Those that collect MS coinage often do so because the coins usually have more meat than their worn counterparts.
That looks uncirculated!
Young Numismatist • My Toned Coins
Life is roadblocks. Don't let nothing stop you, 'cause we ain't stopping. - DJ Khaled
I don’t like Walkers with weak strikes like that one, whether they are worn or weakly struck, when they are flat looking like that right up the middle of Liberty it sort of ruins the eye appeal completely
Mr_Spud
I've been looking at all the S Walkers from 1939 onward for years. It doesn't matter the grade, in general the poor strikes are the norm. For a while, I thought it was because they overused the dies. But I've come to the conclusion that they must of had the pressure set lighter than either Denver or Philadelphia. Strong strikes seem to be the norm for Philadelphia, with Denver a close second. But San Francisco is a big fail. Look online at photos at Heritage or the Great Collections, and you'll see it's almost impossible to find a well-struck S Walker.
Many years ago, I bought a group of UNC walkers at a show with the intention of selling them on eBay. Trying to sell them as UNC was a challenge as way too many collectors do not understand the difference between a coin that's not fully struck and one that has wear. It really shouldn't be necessary to explain there is a difference, but that's not the world we live in.
It is so bad it looks like a cheap cast fake. The 40-s is all over the place,