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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 4555958, member: 101855&quot;]If those marks <i>are into the surface of the coin, </i>they were put there after the piece was struck, almost certainly while in circulation. They are to be expected on a piece that has had moderate wear. I would grade this piece as a VF-25.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, there is no way that there could be a 1796 dime with 13 stars unless the stars were removed outside the mint. The decision to go with 13 stars on the obverse was made in 1797 when it became obvious that adding any more beyound 16 would be impossible given the space available.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you ever get a chance to see a 1797 16 star dime, take a look at the stars with a 10 X glass. You will see hash marks that the die maker scratched in before he punched the starts into the surface of the dies. You can see the same thing on the early half dimes, but those coins so small that it is even harder to spot it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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