L@@K! MORE K6AZ vs. ss350camaro! Catch up with the latest dirt!

lordmarcovan · June 24, 2005 11:15AM

You can put away your popcorn. I fooled ya.

The original title of this thread was "No-date Buffalo (cud? planchet flaw?) and 1935-D (/S?) Merc (RPM?)", but it's been a total dud. So I thought I'd come up with a catchier title. Same dud thread, though. Sorry.

...but since you're here, tell me your theories on what's goin' on with these two coins. Sorry the pics ain't better.

I dug both of these coins while detecting at different sites in North Carolina years ago. OK, so they ain't purty after sleepin' in the ground for a while, but I picked both of these out and plopped 'em on my cheapo scanner today because I thought they had some interesting features. What do you think is goin' on with these?

First, the Buffalo. It's only the second one I ever dug. The date's gone but look at the reverse, where the first part of "FIVE" is missing. It's level with the higher points of the coin. I would think it's some sort of cud, but then there's that crater next to the raised area. Maybe a planchet flaw? Or could it be damage that subsequently wore down so it was even with the higher points? Seems like an awful lot of extra metal there for that. Too bad it's a low-end dateless coin.

Next, the Merc dime. Examining it with the naked eye, I couldn't tell if it had a "D" or an "S" mintmark. There seems to be somethin' goin' on there. Merc gurus: is the "D" on Mercs of that era usually so squarish and filled in like that? (I suppose I could check some of my nondug Mercs, but they're in my antique mall booth). I think I checked Breen and Cherrypicker's for possible RPM's but came up blank. Sorry I couldn't do a better closeup of the mintmark- I cranked the resolution on that cheapo scanner to the max to scan the pic I have here. Maybe it's a just "D" that got hit somehow, moving the metal around a little. But it always looked funny to me.

Both nearly worthless, of course, but they didn't cost me nuthin', comin' outta the ground. Just thought they were interesting.

lordmarcovan · June 24, 2005 11:50AM

Ooh. Don't everybody jump up and reply at once.

Maybe I should have put "FLAME WAR!!!" in my title?

CoinOnTheCob · June 24, 2005 12:38PM

TTT, I'm curious about that mm on the merc., too.

lordmarcovan · June 24, 2005 12:39PM

Thanks, COTC.

I was remarking on my amazing success in creating a dud thread.

(A rather common thing for me sometimes.)

JRocco · June 24, 2005 12:41PM

Nice diggs. Both are keepers. That MM does look funky on that Merc. Hard to tell if its an OMM with that pic, but it sure looks close.

CoinOnTheCob · June 24, 2005 12:43PM

Lol. Somebody must know something. I have a few hundred Mercs myself and I remember seeing a big, fat mint mark that was hard to make out. First it looked like a "D", then, with a loupe, it looked like it might be an "S". I put it on the scanner and blew it up and it kind of looked like Elvis. What should the opening bid be for that one?
Dennis

lordmarcovan · June 24, 2005 12:47PM

<< <i>I put it on the scanner and blew it up and it kind of looked like Elvis. What should the opening bid be for that one? >>

The Elvis ones don't command so much of a premium.

But if you find one with a Virgin Mary mintmark, now, you've got it made!

lordmarcovan · June 24, 2005 2:32PM

ttt

MAD4MORGANS · June 24, 2005 6:49PM

The Buffalo looks like it's cudded up a lot to me. I think it's WAY COOL!!

I wonder if there's any non-destructive way to see if there's a date under there (probably not) but if so, what the date would be?? It would be interesting to find out.

The mintmark on the Merc also looks interesting and the "6" in the date as well (looks awfully slanted to me). Maybe you should get with that Fred Weinberg guy who sells/collects a lot of error coins and see if he has encounterred any like these. I think he's a member of this forum.

lordmarcovan · June 25, 2005 8:38AM

I thought it was a "5".

But you're right... it does look really slanted...

lordmarcovan · June 25, 2005 10:40AM

Wow, this really IS a dud thread.

Maybe it needs a catchier title...

DNADave · June 25, 2005 10:42AM

made me look.

TorinoCobra71 · June 25, 2005 10:42AM

LM -

You cheated!! We thought we were gonna get some juicy gossip!!

TorinoCobra71

ksteelheader · June 25, 2005 10:47AM

21Walker · June 25, 2005 11:04AM

How about I'm leaving for Bali, Indonesia tomorrow for the 14th time in 10 years........Nice find lord............Rick

lordmarcovan · June 25, 2005 11:10AM

<< <i>key word spamming >>

Guilty as charged.

dizzyfoxx · June 25, 2005 11:14AM

< L@@K! MORE K6AZ vs. ss350camaro! Catch up with the latest dirt!>

...and to think I was going to settle in and keep reloading this thread and enjoy the "show"

Bochiman · June 25, 2005 11:18AM

Given the whole development, this was a poor choice

Something I would expect on the OF....very poor choice on the Coin Forum....things like this are what make worse things happen by blurring the lines of the OF and CF.

cladking · June 25, 2005 11:29AM

Well hell, just posting now shows I actually opened this thread. (I must be bored)

I guess I can always hope you change the title again.

It looks as though the buffalo was whacked a good one on the obverse when it was nearly
uncirculated and wear has done the rest. Remember the highest points always take the brunt
of the wear even when they aren't mint made high points. Being near the rim will also assure
an even higher rate of wear.

The merc is, no doubt, a Denver issue with a little damage on the mintmark which makes it look
like an S.

AuldFartte · June 25, 2005 12:18PM

I wasn't gonna open it, but since it's from LordM ... well, he ain't exactly into gossip

The Merc mint mark ... maybe a filled die??? Just a wild guess

The Buff looks like a well-worn rim die break to me.

ss350camaro · June 25, 2005 12:22PM

Looks like i'm going to have to impliment smoe sort of fee for the use of my name

lordmarcovan · June 25, 2005 12:25PM

<< <i>Given the whole development, this was a poor choice

Something I would expect on the OF....very poor choice on the Coin Forum....things like this are what make worse things happen by blurring the lines of the OF and CF. >>

Bochiman, considering this started out (and remains, for the most part) a serious, coin-related thread, and it got ignored with a coin-related title, I was out to prove a point. And I think I just did.

<< <i>It looks as though the buffalo was whacked a good one on the obverse when it was nearly
uncirculated and wear has done the rest. Remember the highest points always take the brunt
of the wear even when they aren't mint made high points. Being near the rim will also assure
an even higher rate of wear.

The merc is, no doubt, a Denver issue with a little damage on the mintmark which makes it look
like an S. >>

Thanks, Sam.

I think I would see a bit more evidence of an obverse whack on the Buffalo, despite the wear. If it pushed enough metal up in the corresponding area of the reverse, I think I'd see a little rim deviation.

You're probably right about the Merc. I never really examined the mintmark that well until I made the scans.

RYK · June 25, 2005 12:28PM

Ya got me!

PerryHall · June 25, 2005 6:13PM

What a rotten trick.

Gemini · June 25, 2005 7:12PM

The buffalo looks like peeled lamination going on there...I don't think its damage. I have a coin that looks similar....I can't speculate whats going on with the dime...looks odd.

MAD4MORGANS · June 25, 2005 10:22PM

Here is a photo of a die cud see if it looks like the ones on your coin.

MAD4MORGANS · June 25, 2005 10:44PM

BIGGER PICS
I'm thinking a possibility maybe something more going on with that D mintmark.

Maybe and S/D mintmark??

L@@K! MORE K6AZ vs. ss350camaro! Catch up with the latest dirt!

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