Real or Fake? 1916-D Mercury Dime

I took the mercury head dimes and the barber dimes to the coin shop. The guy looked at them for free and said that the barber ones are only worth $8 because they are pretty worn and he said he thought the 1916-D dime might be a fake. How do you tell?
My neighbor had these coin collections since like 1940, and I didn't think he would be the type to make or buy a fake coin! The guy also said if it was real the coin would be worth $200 since it is in good condition.

 

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If you can, post a photo of the 16-D and we will comment as to whether it looks fake or not. Some are obvious from the photo, others are less obvious that some of this forum's dealers and moderators might be able to detect.

 

First of all, a genuine 1916-D Mercury Dime in Good prices at about $500 retail if it has no problems, such as cleaning, nicks, etc. There is a difference between retail and wholesale and between bid and ask, but the 1916-D Mercury is a key coin in a popular serioes and if it is genuine and without problems, $300 is an acceptable dealer-to-dealer price.

As for the coin being genuine, according to the Professional Coin Grading Service -- speaking with only a little sarcasm -- there were 250,000 of those coins made and about half a million in collections. How would your friend know a genuine coin versus a fake?

Did the dealer say why he thought it was fake?

"The Mint mark is boxy and squared off. As the curve of the D begins to take shape on the right side, the top and bottom are angled, not rounded. The inside of the D looks like a triangle." -- PCGS Guide.

 

Only an EXPERT is going to be able to tell you for CERTAIN whether or not your 1916-D Mercury Dime is genuine. Whether or not the dealer you visited is an expert is difficult for anyone on this forum to state with any reasonable certainty.

Some 1916-D fakes are relatively obvious and your average dealer could catch them without too much trouble or education. It is possible that your coin is one of these, and the dealer suspected it immediately. On the other hand, some fakes are so good that it takes very precise examination to determine authenticity. And, there are a number of different mint marks that were used on the 1916-D so many dealers will look in the variety of books on the market that show a single mint mark and call a coin a fake when it in fact is not.

My advice, post a high quality digital picture here. A number of us can take a look at it and tell you if it is fake. What we cannot tell you for sure from a photo is whether it is real. If I for one do not believe it is a fake, my advice would be to send it to PCGS for certification.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone

It is really hard to take pictures of a coin! Making them JPG blurred them a little too. Here are my best attempts

 

Yes he said he wasn't sure about the D and also something about "scepters" (sp?)

 

Why is it black in that area. Blowtorch from soldering on a "D"????

I am no expert. That is why I would never buy a such popular rare coin (or a 19109SVDB cent) unless it was slabbed. It would be worth it for you to have it slabbed and then sell it yourself on eBay.

 

Can you get a little closer on the "D"

 

That's my guess.

Nevertheless, I'll give you 11¢ for it.

 

Piker. If it's a real 1916-P dime with a "D" added, I'll see your 11 cents and raise you a buck!

 

BUT.....even if it is fake, thanks to the marvels of eBay, it woul dprobably still bring $25 or $35 as a fake. I've seen it done before.

 

And probably MUCH more than that if the seller is unethical. Someone would certainly pay a few bucks for a known fake 1916-D, though, just to get that last hole in their coin album filled.

 

True, of course. But, I would NEVER suggest selling it as anything but a definite fake (assuming that status has been proven to your satisfaction).

Intoehr words, these guys who say "not sure if it is real", etc. etc. are trying to be unscrupulous while still convincing themselves that they did not lie to anyone. When someone sells a desirable coin unslabbed, I always get suspicious. Why not get it slabbed and sell it as a guaranteed authentic coin and get top $$ for it? Because they think or know it is probably fake.

I say get the dime slabbed and see if they approve it.

 

Does that mean send it to the ANAC place? Sorry, I don't know much about coins- my mom told me to check on the internet and see if these coins were worth anything, they were in the closet for like 6 years after we got them.

Also, a lot of the other coins in the book have the black marks on them.

I am trying to get a closer pic of the D but it isn't easy!

 

The black on silver is not that uncommon, actually. There are a few grading companies. I am sure others can give specifics.

 

I don't buy slabbed coins, personally - they are too big for my binder - and my wife only gives me limited shelf space for my collection!

 

I am new to all this. (10-19-2015) But, I just pulled my Mercury Dime collection out of our safe deposit box today (it is complete, BTW), and my 1916D is worn, and the D is properly positioned, has its serifs in place and at the correct angle. Only detail in question: the opening in the D is non existent. It just looks worn, as does the rest of the coin.

Otherwise, I handle this set as valuable. My late father-in-law left it to me when he died and I tried to complete it as best I could.

The dealer that sold me the 1916D (and a few lesser "Mercuries") has now closed down his shop, but not before he helped me complete the set my "FIL" started way back before I was born !

David