Silver Goose, Welcome to Coin Talk and congrats on the gift from your Grandfather! The Mintmark was probably rubbed by someone which I see happen a lot when someone tries to remove dirt, grime or toning from it, to make sure it is really there. Otherwise, the Mintmark appears correct for the coin and although a little cleaner than the rest of the coin, it appears normal to me. However, if you can take a post a really good close-up of the Mintmark, we might be able to tell if a Mintmark was added or not. The key to this Date and Mint is authenticity and if it is genuine, I would say that it is a dirty EF-40 worth somewhere between $140 and $170. If conserved by NCS, then graded by NGC, the value may go up to as high as $200 and possibly a little more. Frank
Great date , your granfather picked a good one , the one in the lettering was often very weekly struck , still it would be nice to see a closeup of the MM . RZAGE
I hate to say it but the Mintmark appears a little fishy! In that, I mean that it looks a little broad at the top left loop which could be due to Post Mint damage (i.e. suffered an impact which caused it to spread out in that location). Also, unless I am wrong, the Mintmark appears upside down. It may be just me! Hopefully some others have had a chance to give their assessments. Frank
Hello, I can't confirm if the coin is genuine and unaltered, but I suspect that it's OK. It appears to have some flatness on the high spots, so I would grade it as Extra Fine. Similar coins are trading on eBay in the $80-$100 range.
