Just Bob

There is even a website devoted to them:

https://www.sampleslabs.com/index.php

The OP has just lost any credibility he might have had. He felt the need to lash out, simply because he could not accept the idea that other people do not think exactly like he does. That makes us all "haters" in his book. This, sadly, is the mindset of the current generation. 

Welcome to the forum.

It looks like your nickel got caught in a machine of some kind, and suffered severe damage. It is not a mint error. 

It is a shame that they did not mint tokens that were labeled as being specifically for use at the mint. I guess using a generic token was a cost-saving measure.

Forum Member Mr. Spud posted a different token that he had purchased that was also used at the mint, although he did not say which branch. It is the 13th post down on this page: Click here. 

On 4/1/2022 at 8:10 PM, Oldhoopster said:

The tolerance range is +/- 0.13 GRAMS, not percent.  The people telling you it's a percentage are wrong

+1

The best way to start would be to post very clear, cropped, enlargeable pictures of both sides of your coin. You might even want to try posting several pictures, using different lighting angles. Remember, you will be expecting someone to base their opinion of your coin and it's value on your pictures. Fuzzy cell phone pics will not do the job. It will be up to you to provide pictures of this coin as it actually looks in hand, if you expect someone to spend money on it.

On 3/31/2022 at 9:53 PM, Woods020 said:

Well you learn something every day. I had no clue the NGC explorer went into that depth. 
 

Looks like JR-5 to me. Is that what you were thinking?

Variety Plus is a much better resource than most of us realize. 

I agree with JR-5. It is the only example on which the top of the numeral "5" is not curved.  As is my habit though, I started with the T-I relationship on the reverse first, so it took me a bit to get there. Had I started with the obverse, I would have found it much sooner.

Attribution is one of my favorite things to do when someone posts a new coin, and Variety Plus is a big help.

You have a good attribution guide at your fingertips.

https://www.ngccoin.com/variety-plus/united-states/dimes/early-dimes-1796-1837/

I have an idea which one it is, but I will let you have the fun of looking for yourself.

I like the color better in this last set of pics. 

On 3/31/2022 at 9:54 AM, JKK said:

It's rare that I find myself less conservative on coin grading than anyone else here. I think I see why Bob went with F; the obverse devices have enough detail loss to make VF an iffy proposition. I do wonder if the height of the original obverse devices would be a mitigator, as in so high that there might be more tolerance for wear past the highest points. Hard to say, really. The rim bump is a hard no for EF, but in my view so would the obverse be anyway.

Actually, I have zero experience grading these, so I went with my gut. Then, to see how close I was, I went looking at examples that had been sold on the web. I found a few, and the VF ones looked to have just a hair more meat than this example, so I stuck with Fine. The harder I look, though, the more rim dings I see. 

I like the piece, though. 

On 3/31/2022 at 11:00 AM, VKurtB said:

The plain unfortunate truth is that WHATEVER the so-called SMS SP Special Strike coins are (again agreeing with Roger here) they are a closed set. There are no more to be found, by definition and by agreement, literally. It doesn’t matter. It never really did. You can have a 1964 Kennedy struck from the very same dies later the same DAY and they aren’t going to give you that authentication. They just aren’t. It’s a provenance matter, not a technical one. 

And it would be very frustrating indeed to find that coin and know that it had all of the right markers yet discover that it will never be worth what the SP labeled coins are.

On 3/30/2022 at 2:23 PM, VKurtB said:

I do, and about 75% of them do not make me proud to know them. Look, I get it. Overhead is more expensive than it ever has been. Even being a show dealer is rough on overhead, if it’s a good show. But I also know MANY dealers who live lavishly at shows, real conspicuous consumers of the “good life”. That overhead comes MOSTLY from screwing people with coins to sell. 

This is something that I will never understand. I wonder how many of those same dealers are bemoaning the fact that "not enough is being done to promote the hobby." And yet, by their actions, they are alienating the very collectors they claim to want to attract.

I would choose Standard over Economy, since it seems you get more value. With Economy, you get a description and grade for $28. The services for Standard Tier, which costs $45:

"Coins receive full attribution, are weighed, and are analyzed for grade, strike, surface and style."

I don't want to derail the OP's thread, but I don't know if a publication date has been set yet. I am not sure he has even finished researching all of the coins. I do know that the excerpts that he has posted were chock full of all kinds of information, photos, and extensive documentation. When he does get it ready, I want to be in line to put in my order. 

He pops in over here from time to time. Maybe he will see this thread and give us an update.

Lee's book, that RWB mentioned above, will be THE Definitive Work on classic commemorative coins. In fact, it may end up being more than one volume; he has amassed so much information that one book may not be able to hold it all. I am very curious about how such a work will affect collectors' perceptions of commemoratives, and what may happen to the popularity, and therefore the prices, if the book does well.

On 3/29/2022 at 8:09 PM, Livio Eleven said:

It may be my LED lighting although I think your intuition is probably good. It wouldn't surprise me if these coins had been cleaned back in the '70's. The entire set of  50+ coins has a bright finish with little variation between coins.

 

At one time, it was an acceptable practice. I believe Whitman, maker of coin folders, even had printed instructions on the best way to do it. Now, it is taboo. ( And, YouTube idi ots are still giving instructions.)

It isn't easy telling someone that Dad or Grandad (or even the dealer from whom they purchased their coins) may have diminished the value. But, as I said, they were just doing what they thought was best.

That aside, I sincerely hope these are genuine.

On 3/29/2022 at 2:23 PM, Dean Corry said:

Lisa,

Is Coinbuf correct?  This is a simple human error where an "A" quality coin did not get its proper final label?  

Thanks for your help.

Mr. Lange also works for NGC. He is one of the big dogs. 

I will guess Fine, with a rim nick. Can you post closer pics?

On 3/29/2022 at 2:14 PM, VKurtB said:

Ethan, there are two worlds, the everyday commerce world and the numismatic world. It is very unusual to see a 1941 cent in everyday commerce world, but they are as common as dirt in numismatic world. 

Good point.

On 3/26/2022 at 6:34 PM, Coinbuf said:

A Rim Restricted Design Duplication results in the design being raised on the rim, from the photos your coin appears to be incuse on the rim.

Is the design incuse, Karen?

On 3/28/2022 at 7:36 PM, Oldhoopster said:

It's nickel plated.  A 70% Ni 30% Cu XRF compositional analysis is entirely consistent of a nickel plated piece.  XRF can penetrate 100 microns or more below the surface, which is below a typical plating thickness. For example, the thickness of the Cu plating on a Lincoln cent is approx. 8 microns.  So the XRF is primarily reading the Ni plating along with some of the Cu cent underneath

Sorry to say, but your coin is a regular cent that was plated after it left the mint.  Nothing more

+1

On 3/24/2022 at 5:29 AM, Fenntucky Mike said:

  A small price to pay to protect my collection though. I'm not cutting corners.