I've had this coin for sometime and only recently dug it out of the vault. Poor condition for a Mercury Dime. Alas what year is it? Looks like a 1922 or 23d? None were issued. If it was a 1922 or 23d it would be counterfeit. Perhaps there was an 8 there at one time an it just wore right off? You be the judge.
It's just a roached coin; perfectly genuine but heavily worn. I wouldn't put too much thought into it either way.
Yeah, this isn't a valuable coin by any means. But, if you want to figure out the date for funsies, you'll need to use a loupe, stereoscope, or macro photography setup to zoom in on the area where the last digit should be. If there's anything there, one of those tools will allow you to see it.
Just a guess but one of the dates that has the most distance between the top of the two and the next didgit. 1926 ?
I brought it to a friend of mine in a lab this morning an he noticed that the date slants down towards a right angle where the coin has thinned down. He claims that that worn out digit is a 1. A worn out Key date. 1921-D.
What kind of "lab" is this and what did this gentleman do above and beyond simply looking at the coin? I ask only because while this may sound all fine and dandy, it's meaningless without further details. Truth be told, I can't see the coin well enough to say one way or the other, but instead of simply deeming the coin a "worn key" based upon what may or may not be solid information, perhaps a little research is in order. First, ask yourself if anything changed (characteristics) during the 1920s (hint: iirc, there is something that changed over this period). If so, and if still possible, try to use facts to identify at least a date range for the coin. You may not be able to, with absolute certanty, nail down and exact date, but is better than maybes and what-ifs. The fact is that with coins, of all denominations and types, in conditions that make positive identification difficult, people tend to see what they want instead of what is actually there. This is why, as an example, there are so many supposed "1918/7" and "16/16" acid dated Buffalo nickels and supposed "16-D Mercs" with "something" (real or imagined) that may or may not resemble a D somewhere on the reverse that people insist up and down are the real deal. Oh, and we can't forget the conveniently corroded or damaged 09 Lincolns that just "have" to be S VDBs. Such coins, and only the rare and/or more valuable ones, as if by magic, are awfully plentiful when compared to clear cut examples.
