So many questions. First off, good morning. I'm still a newb and I really lack the understanding of what I'm looking at. So, I present a perfectly ordinary coin that I know is only worth a few bucks on a good day and I'm not asking you to tell me I have the holy grail. What I am looking for is some feedback. This coin was in a whitman folder for at least the last 40 years. Before I posted I tried to figure a few things out. I have a 2016 deluxe edition red book that has great photos of progressive grades. I have a digital cherry pickers guide and I looked at some stuff online. 1) What grade is this coin? More importantly, why? I think this is a VF-35 ish. I base that on the obvious wear but, also, the few details that still hang on. The waves in the hair by the cheek and in the win. On the reverse, the remnant banding on the three bands and the mostly clear lettering. I wonder if I'm underestimating the wear around the obverse rim - with all the wear on the liberty and the date. Is this uniform wear part of the "weak strike" they write about regarding the mercurys? 2) Is that ugly yellow stuff "toning"? In other words, the toning that I see in the beautiful coins all over the internet, with all colors of the rainbow, is this the other end of the spectrum? Or just grime? 3) How "good" is this photo? I worry that lighting is pretty poor and I tried a white lighting and a "soft lighting" (I'll post below). Is the white more accurate? Any suggestions? No matter what I did, I struggled with glare and I think that's the camera/lens in the digital microscope (it's a twenty dollar jobbie from amazon). Sorry for the book. Any advice/knowledge appreciated.
On the heads side I see a finger print. Yellow stuff looks like toning. Not full split bands. Not sure on the grade. Wait for more opinions...
Try difusing some of your light on the scope. It is washing any trace of luster, and not to mention a bit of the details. Guessing here I would put it somewhere in the low AU grade range.
On the photo quality, seems a bit out of focus. Some scopes are good for details such as RPMs and full bands close ups, etc. but cant seem to focus on the whole coin...good job on the lighting, cropping and postings full image though!
While it may be VF 25-30 is more likely. As mentioned the yellow stuff is probably album toning. Those cardboard folders give off gases so after 40 years, etc. I also noticed the fingerprint, (someone touched that coin early in the minting process, and the acid and oils on the finger etch that print on the coin. I have a number of coins (mostly pennies) with fingerprints.) which some people do not like at all. Although it's not supposed to affect the grade? Keep the photos coming. Here's one of the fingerprints:
I have a digital scope too and the lights are arrayed in a circle around the objective. with a coin like a Mercury dime with a fairly high relief design and all sorts of out reflective angles it's easy to get hot spots. I'm not sure how you would correct for that. as to the tone, it justlooks like natural tarnish. If any doubt an acetone bath will remove organics.
1. I think your estimate of the grade is fairly accurate, but then I'm not known as being a good grader, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. 2. Yes, that is toning. There is that smudge on IGWT that might benefit from an acetone soak. I doubt that thumbprint is removable at this point. 3. Again, I'm not known for posting great photos of my items, but lighting is important. Have you tried using three light sources to eliminate all shadows? Might fool around with that and see what you get. The clarity of the photos is good. Overall, a nice post. Thank you for posting it.
On the whole you have good pictures for a inexpensive scope, you’ll have to experiment on lighting, but two low power (25-40 watt) is plenty strong enough, placed at 10 and 2K. Diffused lighting will help minimize glare, some people use white coffee filter paper over cool bulbs (led). You will have problems with pixelation at magnification. The lesser-priced scopes usually top out at 2MP, a scope with a minimum 3MP seems to take care of pixelation. I see your coin at 45-50, so I’d say you’re on track on teaching yourself to grade. Using comparison tools to grade, like PCGS Photograde and others will help you stay in the ball park. I have to add I believe that is deterioration of the obverse die that is affecting the 41/date (the bottoms near the rim) and likewise the lettering of LIBERTY (the tops near the rim). I agree the toning is cardboard gassing from albums. The fingerprint is there to stay, and it definitely impacts eye appeal on any coin, being equally crucial to grading a coin as luster and wear, imo.
Welcome to coin talk. all the above information is very good and right on the money (excuse the pun) only thing I can add is, if you don't have a "United States coins red book" get one, that is a coin collectors Bible. Good luck and happy hunting.
Welcome to coin talk. all the above information is very good and right on the money (excuse the pun) only thing I can add is, if you don't have a "United States coins red book" get one, that is a coin collectors Bible. Good luck and happy hunting.
I like what you have accomplished so far. Learn as you go it can only get better, welcome to CT. Thanks for posting and good luck.
Nice coin. I don’t own a Mercury dime but I’ll do my best. I’m (guessing)most rainbow toning is questionable. Not always!!!! Toning has many attractive views. I think yours is grime and such. One sided toning( reverse like yours)is telling me this. But I’m wrong a lot. Clean this coin Maybe it’ll loose the finger print
Thanks everyone for the great replies and advice! Any recommendations on better equipment/setups for photos to use on a personal catalogue?
This fellow makes coin photo systems for pretty much any budget:http://www.macrocoins.com/home.html he posts a lot over here: https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=81 I just keep it simple with a solid copy stand, an older DSLR with a manual macro lens, and 2 daylight bulbs on goosenecks; but I just got 4 gooseneck LED lights delivered to fiddle with.
