just a question for you all....I purchased a 1940p mercury dime on ebay. It was graded ms70 by a Star Grading Services (sgs). I only paid $4 for it, and I know its not one of the top 4 companies everyone talks about, but should i just leave it as is, or have it regraded by ngc or pcgs? It looks great, but was looking for some opinions. Thanks Greg
(Never tell me the odds) You may want to post some pictures, or try to grade it yourself. The keys for a gem are strong luster and very few marks that don't really jump at you (and of course no traces or wear and full details in the hair, wings and the torch, etc.) Chances are it's AU at best, or a problem coin at worst. If you can post some detailed pics, maybe people can take a shot at giving a grade range.
I will see if I can figure out how to get some good pictures on here, but to be honest with you, this dime looks flawless. It has all of its luster, great detail in the hair and wings, there is not a mark on the reverse to the naked eye. I will get my loop out on it tomorrow and see what I can see, but I honestly havent seen many mercurys like this
i dont and never will trust sgs, but maybe you got a deal. the only reason i would buy from abon or anything in an sgs slab would be if it was priced under melt including shipping. monkeyman
IMO 4 dollars is a great price to pay for any MS Merc. The SGS service is natorious for slabbing circulated coin and label them MS. Look for these atributes in your coin to detect a MS condition: No sign of wear on any area of the coin, obverse or reverse. There should be a mint luster on the fields of both sides. A pin wheel effect and high shine, not dull and flat. Remember to buy the coin not the slab. Education is king when is comes to making a great deal. Keep on Collecting!!! Allen
not to be another of a littany of wet blankets, but if the coin looks perfect, there is always the possibility that the surfaces have been altered to make it look that way. Remember, Walter, that to most novices a whizzed coin looks every bit as perfect as a gem coin. My advice is this: If you like the coin, keep it. Holder or not. If you are looking for a top graded coin, chances are that this one won't bear the muster. IMHO MS-70 coins of earlier than 1970 virtually don't exist. Notice I didn't say that they don't, but given the extreme rarity of a 1940s coin in MS-70, I would hardly expect to find one being sold by anyone knowledgeable, especially at a $4 price tag.
It is very possible the coin is a mint state grade, but it is even more probable that SGS over graded this coin. I would suggest keeping this coin as is for now. Having it regraded by PCGS or NGC will only cost you money you can not get a return on. In the future the true grade of this coin should come clear to you as you learn. Very Nice Buy!!! Allen
Very good point. I see this all to often with new collectors in our club that mistake a whizzed Merc for one with mint luster. They are devestated when you show them the difference. I would be also. Allen
Boy, I wish a had a quarter for everytime that I hear this. The finest Uncirculated non-Full Bands example graded by PCGS is a single MS-68. The finest Uncirculated Full Bands examples graded by PCGS are 4 MS-68's. The finest Proof examples graded by PCGS are 16 PR-68's. As to value of the above. Somewhere in the $3,000+ range. I have touched alot of SGS graded coins, most of the 70's are in reality AU'ish in nature. some have indeed been cleaned, dipped, polished, etc...
1,000,000 to 1 the coin is MS-70. I went to the PCGS site and they have only graded 5 coins of this date in MS-68, 4 with full bands with none graded higher. Stay away from SGS slabbed coins. Luckily you got away cheap and hopefully you got a problem free uncirculated example.
If the coin doesn't qualify for a "Full Bands" designation, even if it would grade as high as MS66 at a highly respected grading company it wouldn't be worth the grading fees. If it would grade out as MS66 Full Bands, it would be worth the grading fee. Obviously, without images, there is no way to know, and even with images, we might not be able to tell.
Unless you have to have high grades in your collection, I wouldn't worry about it. Like Mike said, if you like it, keep it. Considering it's SGS, it's doubtful it's even MS anything. But for $4 and perhaps an AU, I'd say you did good. Guy~
Here is what I got for you, I know if its to good to be true, it probably is. So I took the coin to 2 highly respected dealers in the area. The odds of it being an ms70 as printed on the slab is about as likely as I am to fly. Knowing that I went to these 2 dealers today and told me the same exact thing. For 4 dollars I did very well, but it is at best ms63. Then they both yelled at me and said stay away from ebay if I know what's good for me. We had a laugh and they were nice enough to answer all of my questions and told me that if there is anything i ever needed, dont hesitate to ask. This was all a learning experience, and a much needed one at that.
