I pulled these out of a bag of junk silver that a friend was going to dump at a local coin store. I don't do much with rainbow toned US coins, but I liked these, would like to know what everyone here thinks of them. The 1943-S does have some scratches both sides, which detracts a bit. Can't get Lehigh's image quality with my mickeymouse setup, but colors came across well enough.
I like my mercs nice and clean with luster but the 1943 you have there has a nice strike. But what do I know LOL.
Not bad looking coins at all. Lady Liberty on the 1941 s looks like she went to the tanning bed. Nice save.
That 39's is spectacular, don't see a whole lot of circulated coins with toning like that, and photos aren't that bad either. Congrats on your rescues!
Those are very pretty. Particularly the first one. Nice! I've not seen many mercs toned like that in the past, but admittedly I'm not a close follower of the series. For those who are, tell me, are coins toned like this common within the series? How do you think they toned this way?
Thanks everyone for having a look and commenting. I've always thought that a rainbow tone around the periphery of a coin was indicative of the rim being the closest to a toning agent, that being either roll paper or the edges of thumbuster holes. These particular coins have spent years in a plastic bag, don't know where they may have resided prior.
Nice pickups! I cant believe your friend was gonna sell em at melt. I can see the potential dealer licking his lips now. The reverse edge rainbow on that 39 is sweet. Mint mark looks a little tilted too. I wonder if those coins spent some time in an album? Nice !
I used to collect Mercury Dimes and in my experience they are diverse in their toning patterns. Having said that, these coins are unusually toned, even for Mercury Dimes. The first coin is the most attractive IMO. Some mottled colorful toning that seems to be mostly in the recesses of the coin. The color progressions are right and the toning does not come up over the reverse lettering which is an indicator of NT. This coin is certainly market acceptable in my eyes. It is too bad the coin has scratches that make it a problem coin. The last two coins concern me. The obverse toning patterns just look strange to me. I don't think the coins are AT, but they are probably the result of prolonged severe improper storage that involved either high heat, high humidity, or both. The bigger problem with these coins is that they are post 1934 circulated Mercury Dimes. The have very little numismatic value and the toning will do very little to add value because these coins are so easy to find in high mint state grades with exceptional toning and relatively low prices. That doesn't mean I would like to own them, as one of my lesser projects is a circulated rainbow toned Mercury Dime collection. I have a few right now, these two are my best. Personally, I like the reverse of the 41-S the best.
THanks Lehigh. I gotta say I like all the coins. Not perfect, but quite a find in a pile headed for scrap!!! p.s. yours are cool too!