Again, I try to not overdue these requests... but does this coin have ANY shot of being an AG-03? My dealer said to NOT send it to PCGS if I'm planning to keep it and if it's sentimental. I think he was trying to be kind about his opinion... Hopefully the upload worked Thank you
AG03, leaning towards FR02 imo still a cool and valuable coin, especially since the date and mint mark are still visible.
I think it's very close to being AG03. But, GreatWalrus may be correct. The wear on the words "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum" are not consistent with that grade though and are actually better than a AG03 coin. Nor are they consistent with other areas of the coin. Maybe those words are the low points on the Mercury, I'm not sure. I'm not really a Mercury Dime guy, so what do I know? Somebody will come along on the forum that knows.
From what I've seen, TPGs are pretty generous with low-grade 16d's. Wear-wise, this seems like a shoo-in for AG03, but I'm not sure what they'd do about that obverse cut. I'd be happy with a coin like this for that date, though.
If it's sentimental to you, that likely means you'll never be selling it right? If that's the case, why get it slabbed? Is that gonna give you a warm and fuzzy feeling if it is? I'd say, just go buy a nice air-tite for it and just enjoy it, no reason to get it slabbed if you're never going to sell it.
After seeing my father with this coin for 40 years, would you believe I JUST noticed that cut? Man-o-man....
That's pretty much what my dealer told me, which I agree... I'm just having a tough time (and it's a whole other topic) on storing my coins - the crazy part of me just wants to sell out and only buy slabs... Unfortunately the reasonable side of me knows that isn't a solution to my mental block. This is a hard hobby for a O.C.D. sufferer!!
TBH, I hate TPG but a coin like a 16d I would send in just to verify its authentic. It has been said there were I believe 264,000 minted, but over a million of them in coin collections today.