1941 Mercury Dime Grade & Worth?

Discussion in 'What's it Worth' started by antique_angel, Jun 18, 2011.

  1. antique_angel

    antique_angel New Member

    Could someone give me a rough estimate of what this coins grade would be and what it would be worth...
    I'm having a really hard time with this one. I understand its really hard to grade a coin from a picture.

    *Images taken through a x30 magnifying glass.
     

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  3. iGradeMS70

    iGradeMS70 AKA BustHalfBrian

    Looks cleaned. Probably an XF-Details coin. Worth around $2.50. It is basiclly worth the amount of silver in which it contains due to the grade and cleaning.

    -Brian
     
  4. rlm's cents

    rlm's cents Numismatist

    I am thinking it is an MS coin, but weakly struck. I cannot tell for sure if it has been cleaned.
     
  5. Merc Crazy

    Merc Crazy Bumbling numismatic fool

    If it isn't cleaned, then something is going on, because I see faint hairlines all over that. I'd grade it AU details though, probably a 53 if it wasn't cleaned.
     
  6. iGradeMS70

    iGradeMS70 AKA BustHalfBrian

    I initially thought the same when examining the reverse, but the higher hairlines of the obverse bust I believed were to worn. Like Merc said, it may (If it hadn't been previously cleaned) have a chance at making it into a lower AU holder. Either way, it's worth melt... Haha, so it's not a big deal what it grades. :)

    -Brian
     
  7. Taylor101

    Taylor101 New Member

    I would buy it from her for 2.50
     
  8. iGradeMS70

    iGradeMS70 AKA BustHalfBrian

    I don't believe she wished to sell the coin. This thread was started for an OPINION on the coin, not for a sale. ;)

    -Brian
     
  9. rlm's cents

    rlm's cents Numismatist

    You have got to watch "hairlines" on the high points of a coin. They are often planchet flaws left behind from the minting. I most commonly see such on Abe's shoulder area even on 67's, but when you look closely, they are not wear and they do not have the shine nor shape of nicks.
     
  10. iGradeMS70

    iGradeMS70 AKA BustHalfBrian

    Yeah, I understand what you're saying. Thanks for the information. :)

    -Brian
     
  11. antique_angel

    antique_angel New Member

    I bought this from someone I know very well who works in a coin shop.
    The pictures may appear that it was cleaned but I truthfully do not think it has been because
    I was looking to buy another one, which he told me NOT to buy because it HAD been cleaned.
    Than he showed me this one instead.
     
  12. Duke Kavanaugh

    Duke Kavanaugh The Big Coin Hunter

    I'm not thinking it's cleaned and it's a xf to au coin for you.
     
  13. Merc Crazy

    Merc Crazy Bumbling numismatic fool

    The fields, least affected by a weak strike, do not exhibit MS luster, or even AU luster. It's either been cleaned or overdipped, and I don't know who'd dip a weak struck Merc dime besides someone experimenting or testing.
     
  14. antique_angel

    antique_angel New Member

    How can you tell whether its weakly stricken?
    Does that mean it has less details?
     
  15. Merc Crazy

    Merc Crazy Bumbling numismatic fool

    How to explain... a coin that's weakly struck will exhibit a lack of details on the highest points on the coin, but will not have any impaired luster in those areas... in other words, the mint-state luster will flow over the entire coin, including the high parts. A mint-state Jefferson nickel from the '60's can usually give you an idea of what a weak strike looks like if you check out the steps on Monticello.
     
  16. antique_angel

    antique_angel New Member

    So basically a sharper image on the coin is a well stricken coin and the weaker striken coins have less strong details?
    And on the weaker ones, its not weak details due to wear its just weak details due to how it was struck?

    Sorry, repeated myself a lot.
     
  17. Merc Crazy

    Merc Crazy Bumbling numismatic fool

    More or less. Some coins can lack details due to the state of the dies as well, or because of strike-throughs, it's not always a weak strike that will cause a poorly struck coin. Once you learn to spot mint-state luster and can pick up on cartwheeling, it becomes a lot easier to identify what coins are weakly struck versus worn.
     
  18. kookoox10

    kookoox10 ANA #3168546

    Hey angel, where did you get your latest acquisition?
     
  19. Vess1

    Vess1 CT SP VIP Supporter


    Here's an example of a well struck merc with full luster for comparison. This is a 39-D PCGS MS-66 FB. It got the Full Band designation because the center band in the middle of the fasces (holding the sticks together) has the indented line in the center of it, fully separating the top and bottom of the band. That's the high point of the reverse. The furthest the metal would have to go into the die. So if that shows up, you know the entire design was fully pressed into the coin with most likely, a decent die. These horizontal bands are usually the first thing many people look at when judging a merc. To see if they're well separated or "mushy". Same with Jefferson nickels and 'full steps' on his home on the reverse. The majority simply did not strike up to their full potential.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    On the obverse you can see how much hair detail and feather detail there can be in the wing. In grading, I think it helps to see the best quality there can be and work your way back so you know what potential was originally there for that series.

    If the coin was made with worn out dies, or they didn't hammer together completely, then it would have made a coin that could never meet it's full potential. Even as new, fresh off the line. It may look worn but could still be graded MS.

    Some Denver mint buffalo nickels from later years had problems striking They actually had the dies adjusted apart some, so they weren't making them over-sized diameters Which resulted in some years of buffalo nickels having weak horns and weak details when they came off the line. Weakly struck coins weren't always an accident. But most of the time, I think the dies wore out. Especially in the early years of minting when it wasn't easy to get a new die across country from Philadelphia.

    I took these photos with just a tensor light, a Canon S3 in macro with the white balance set, and a cheap marco lens off a wide angle from ebay. If your camera has a removable ring on the front, it's a lot easier using a macro lens. Let it be your magnifying glass, attached to the camera. I have shot through a loupe with the macro to zoom in on specific features. Like taking a pic of individual letters or numbers. The lighting and angles, as you have experienced, are difficult to deal with.

    For accurate colors, you never want to mix two types of lighting and set a custom white balance with a sheet of paper if possible. It helps immensely.

    Welcome to cointalk!
     
  20. djhughes

    djhughes New Member

    Here is my 1942s merc. They say it has been cleaned too, but i like it and it looks good in my collection.
    100_3283.jpg 100_3290.jpg
     
  21. Merc Crazy

    Merc Crazy Bumbling numismatic fool

    Nice pics, nice coin, and nice explanation, Vess. You forgot that Merc dimes, especially as you got up there in the years, tended to lose some of the finer details on the coin, especially the obverse, due to wear on the master die. The master die was re-engraved in 1917, and that year tends to have the best overall details, if well-struck.
     
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