It seems to me that Mercury Dimes are very much in demand right now. I am having problems with finding decent prices for XF to AU mercs from 1916 to 1934-D. I'm not looking for a steal or a bargain but just fair dollars worth for dimes in these grades. I've searched for a couple of months for a good online dealer/s. I'm almost coming to believe my sites are set too low. I guess I'm getting worn down. There are very few coin dealers in my area and virtually no coin shows. Maybe a trip to New York City might prove worth while if I knew where to go. Does anyone have any ideas. I can't see paying $50 plus for a 1918-D, or 1916, or 1919-D in XF40 condition, can you. Also what sellers are calling XF actually look like average VF grade. Yes I have looked at and used PCGS Photograde online and Numismedia Photograde too.
You need to start picking through junk silver. They're tough to find, but when you do... can't beat 'em for $2.50 or $3 or whatever your dealer wants to charge for that.
Go with Merc's advice. I've found many treasures looking through junk silver. Might take time, but see what you can do.
I'm hoping a dealer has junk silver dimes that he'll let me wade through at the coin show I'm going to on Sunday.
Good luck if you're trying to find cheap Mercs in NYC. You might find them in smaller towns in NY but in the city they are mostly all pricey.
Thanks on that advice Icerain. I try only to go down there for Yankee games. And that very few and far between. What have you members been paying for Mercuries?
Some. Here are a few of mine: I know, later dates, but very nice at that. Some of the earlier dates are ag to g. With one VG.
The New Grading Standard? I believe you stated "Also what sellers are calling XF actually look like average VF grade.", that seems to have become an average "market grading" standard for some TPG, and thus an accepted standard for many sellers. If you review certified XF Mercury dime auctions on eBay, I believe you'll find numerous examples of specimens in the condition you've stated, especially in pre-1920 dates. I've found "market graded" Fine condition coins TPG graded XF. What about this sold specimen?: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item3f1255514c&item=270890520908&nma=true&pt=Coins_US_Individual&rt=nc&si=3ahij9Z6lMXztv3dxARAbnyghig%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc I have "investors" that will purchase large quantities of "market graded" Fine to Very Fine 1940's rolls of undamaged Mercury dimes at $2.60/coin, Very Fine to Extra Fine at $2.80/coin, and Extra Fine to Almost Uncirculated at $3/coin. Closed auctions will show that buyers are paying into the $60 range for mint marked "raw" teen era coins in true Extra-Fine condition. I've searched large quantities of Mercury dime bags for decades, and a mint-marked Extra Fine teen coin was a rare find. I would gladly purchase rolls of "properly graded" Extra Fine mint-marked teens at $10-$15 per coin. Just the observations of an old Mercury dime lover. :thumb:
Zeke, Just my experience speaking but I totally agree. I had a set of F or better Mercury dimes. I decided a little over a year ago to upgrade everything to VF, which wasn't a bad choice as I had only a total of 8 fine Mercs. These were all before 1925 in date. A couple were easy enough at coin show but the other five were nearly impossible to find. I went to coin shows, coin shops in two cities, and couldn't find them. Gave up and went to ebay. After searching day by day I was able to knock a few off, but they were pricey ($25 or more). My last 3 are moderately pricey, and I was fortunate to find 2 just the other day paying $50 for each. I nabbed them as I have been having such a hard time finding XF coins in late teens and twenties. I would follow the advice as the gentlemen listed above about searching junk bins and coin shows/shops, but I've tried it here in the middle of no where IN and at shows in Indianapolis and gave up the searching for a cheap XF Merc dated in the teens and twenties coin. Best wishes and good luck!
That's... just... I... When I was maybe five or six years old, my grandparents were letting us kids look through (and sometimes choose from) their old coins. There were a lot of wheaties, and a lot of Mercs. Those were the two coins I first learned to grade, with the help of the Red Book and an old 1960's grading book. EVEN THEN, I would've known that this coin was nowhere near XF. Is this the future of TPG slabs? A day when every slabbed rare date has been resubmitted until it comes back overgraded, not just by a few points, but by two full grades?
You need to make 5 that full grades. If it's F15, the best F there is, then there's VF20, VF25, VF30, VF35, and then XF40.
I think it's tough to grade that coin in hand, it looks VF20-25 to me. Still an example of LOLNGC, but not that overgraded.
Not old-school enough. My inner five- or six-year-old, and the books he learned from, counts "F, VF, XF".
Hmmm! A New Standard That I've Missed? I'm apparently "out of touch", and have been grossly undergrading my coins. Hmm! Maybe that's the reason I have such great return sales. My understanding is that the A.N.A. standard for an F-12 (Lowest Grade) FINE (not F-15 the 2nd Fine grade. or Plus, CAC, etc.) grade Mercury dime states: "Diagonal bands show on Fasces, but ONE is worn smooth at midpoint." In the previously referenced auction reverse image, I missed the bottom diagonal band virtually in its entirety. The top diagonal band requires an imagination to determine "midpoint". I personally believe an objective viewer would grade this coin a VG-10? I will admit that in my opinion, the standards were generally only a "dealers dream", as an experienced Mercury dime aficionado knows that the coin design doesn't generally wear in the manner described. Regardless, my reference edition Photograde images don't match the descriptions. The G-4 GOOD defines the rim as "visible" where the images show sharply defined legend characters and date separated in entirety from the rims. The VG-8 VERY GOOD defines the rims as complete, and shows the date melding with the rim, and the reverse rim and legend appreciably incomplete/melding/joined. VF-20 (lowest Grade) VERY FINE defines the Reverse as: Wear shows on the TWO diagonal bands but most details are visible . ALL vertical lines are SHARP, This description generally indicates relatively complete reverse Fasces detail, with the exception of "cross bands". If I sell "Very Fine" lowest grade Mercury dimes, generally every vertical line stops and starts at the diagonal bands, thus the bands can be viewed continuing across the Fasces. I believe that the referenced reverse is generally lacking detail to meet the referenced A.N.A. published standard that my associates recognize/expect. I'll defer to others if my observations or understandings are incorrect. Would someone please provide this deficient collector with the new standard, so that I might include copies of same with my "updated" coin shipments. I plead ignorance, needing re-education if I've missed something when the current grade standards were established for this type coin. Please help educate this "old man", as I've a relatively large shipment of these coins to be delivered this week. Maybe I'll just include images from the referenced Top Tier" TPG certified coin auction. Thanks for the indulgence and allowed pleading. :thumb:
