I picked up these 3 Mercurys within the last couple of weeks. Previously the only Mercs in my collection had been well circulated. Please offer any opinions. What do you think these would grade? Would the 16 or 17 be considered "full band" 1916 1917
Nice pickups - where's the third? My (very uneducated) guess on grades would be MS64 for the 1916, and MS65 FB on the 1917. Edit: I see the second post now. Not too sure about this one though, almost looks like the obverse has been rubbed with something?
Thanks DMiller I'm not sure what the discoloration is on the Obverse of the 23 s. From some angles it disappears completely, and from other angles it appears as it is in the photo.
There is something about her face on the 1923-S that doesn't look right, and the tail of the "9" appears different, too. Did the Mint use a different font that year? Chris
Hard to say based on the pics but the '16 is iffy for MS in my opinion, and it is not FB. The '17 looks to be probably AU, but would have a shot at FB. The '23, I'd say no grade, altered surfaces.
I believe that the font on the date must have been changed. On my other 1923 the tail of the 9 nearly touches the base of the 1, just like the one pictured above. That 9 is definitely different from the one used on Mercs in the teens and the one used in the 30s and 40s.
