Just Bob

I really don't understand the point of having this coin "certified." Everyone knows what it is. Why bother having PCGS (or anyone, for that matter) confirm something that is already known? I also don't understand the point of assigning a "grade." A number is not going to have any effect on the price that this coin brings.

Why do some denarii say "AVGVSTVS," and others say "AVGVSTO?"

Welcome to the forum, Lil joe. 
In 1979, there were two varieties of Anthony dollar minted in Philadelphia: the "Narrow Rim", also known as the "Far Date", and the "Wide Rim", aka "Near Date." The 'Narrow Rim" variety is the more common, and that is the coin you have. The "Wide Rim" variety is not really rare - examples are not hard to find - but since it is the more scarce of the two, it commands a premium. The higher the grade, meaning the nicer the condition of the coin, the higher the price. Only uncirculated coins with almost no marks visible to the naked eye are worth more than two figures. Raw, ungraded coins will not sell for as much as coins that have been authenticated and graded by one of the major grading companies, such as NGC.
As far as "going for a lot of cash" is concerned, be aware that sellers may ask any price that they want for any coin, but what matters is what coins actually sell for. Coins may be for offered sale on Ebay or Etsy for huge amounts of money, but that does not make the coin worth that much. 
While we are on the subject of shady or deceptive practices, please be aware that Youtube is full of "Get Rich From Pocket Change" videos that are very misleading. Do not look to Youtube for advice on coins.

That's a good looking Jefferson. 

Welcome to the forum, Lil joe. 
In 1979, there were two varieties of Anthony dollar minted in Philadelphia: the "Narrow Rim", also known as the "Far Date", and the "Wide Rim", aka "Near Date." The 'Narrow Rim" variety is the more common, and that is the coin you have. The "Wide Rim" variety is not really rare - examples are not hard to find - but since it is the more scarce of the two, it commands a premium. The higher the grade, meaning the nicer the condition of the coin, the higher the price. Only uncirculated coins with almost no marks visible to the naked eye are worth more than two figures. Raw, ungraded coins will not sell for as much as coins that have been authenticated and graded by one of the major grading companies, such as NGC.
As far as "going for a lot of cash" is concerned, be aware that sellers may ask any price that they want for any coin, but what matters is what coins actually sell for. Coins may be for offered sale on Ebay or Etsy for huge amounts of money, but that does not make the coin worth that much. 
While we are on the subject of shady or deceptive practices, please be aware that Youtube is full of "Get Rich From Pocket Change" videos that are very misleading. Do not look to Youtube for advice on coins.

There is no particular dollar threshold that applies to everyone for grading purposes. It'll cost $30-60 for most coins. I know what kinds of coins I can buy for those amounts. I'd ask myself whether I'd rather have another coin, or grading and slabbing of one I already own. If you were a pure investor, you'd probably establish a dollar percentage threshold, but what would it be? 1%? 5%? 20%? That gets into investing and what you think you might gain by paying to have it slabbed. With some coins it'd be a moot point--they have to be slabbed for buyers to feel confident in authenticity/cleaning status. The question would always be whether you would recoup the grading cost. That does not sound like how you collect, so dollar thresholds become nonsense.
And if you aren't an investor/vendor, the question becomes purely one of personal taste, and whether you'd like to spend $30-60 on a grade and plastic or on a coin. If it's one you think needs some serious protection, and you'd rather have the opinion and the plastic, go ahead if you can afford it. I would not, however, do it as a way to educate myself about grading. Why do that when you could buy already slabbed coins on which someone has already eaten the grading cost? Then you'd have not only a certified grade but another coin in your collection without having to mail it in and wait. So much less hassle
Collect however you want. If you just want to protect a coin, there are ways short of slabbing: cardboard/mylar flips, clear plastic saflips, hard plastic airtites, even homemade slabs. But your best move is to buy a grading book, start looking closely at your coins, and begin the climb up. Assume that a lot of dealers will overgrade by about half a grade to a full one (bargain with them accordingly). Learn which coin types are most heavily counterfeited (trade dollars, famous rarities). If you want an opinion, take good sharp shots of obverse and reverse--just as you did here--and ask for grading opinions. Ask people why they graded it the way they did. We have some people here who have no idea what they are doing and do not realize that; just being here doesn't make someone a Really Great Numismatist. There are major areas in which to learn: grading, authentication, alteration detection (such as cleaning). The second two are arguably as important as the first. It's a lifetime of learning, though, so it can stimulate your mind for the rest of your days.
Speaking of which, I wouldn't grade that bustie even close to VF. From my ANA Grading Standards (a good purchase for you to learn grading), a reverse eagle with all the wing detail gone like the one pictured can't get even VG. G-4, definitely, with the caveat that the obverse is nice. I love busties even when they are worn, but they are as they are, and the wear is heavy but the eagle is fully outlined. The reverse can only lower a grade, never raise it, goes the conventional wisdom.
I get it. When people are new to collecting, there are personality types that prefer "doing it right." I laud and respect that mentality; it's the same one that runs the string trimmer after mowing, puts the creamer back without letting it sit out, and gets their vehicle serviced as the manufacturer recommends. The natural default thinking, for that personality type, is that to do coin collecting right you need to have coins graded by a service. And it's completely not true. I have been collecting for fifty years and have never once myself sent a single coin in for grading. I've bought a few slabs, no regrets, and there are some coins I wouldn't buy unless they were slabbed, but in the end I just always wanted another coin more than I wanted the plastic and the opinion. Other people have very specific collecting interests (say, uncirculated busties) and are trying to build the most beautiful certified sets they can; for them, slabbing might make a ton of sense. In the end, though, the only "doing it right" that exists in coins is: learn grading, authentication, and alteration detection; don't clean them until you 100% know wtf you're doing; don't damage them with stupid accidents; don't reward bad vendors with business. Learn which are the good vendors and treat them with respect, and you'll typically get a lot of extra knowledge and discounts.

Lollipops were invented in 1908, and the name wasn't trademarked until 1931. I have a feeling Franklin was dead long before then.

Lollipops were invented in 1908, and the name wasn't trademarked until 1931. I have a feeling Franklin was dead long before then.

Lollipops were invented in 1908, and the name wasn't trademarked until 1931. I have a feeling Franklin was dead long before then.

First, let me welcome you to the forum and to the world of coins, if I have not done so already.
There was some sort of foreign object or substance on either the die, or the planchet (coin blank), or which otherwise somehow got between them, during the striking of your coin, and it left an impression, or lack of normal detail, (or both) on your coin. Thus, the coin was "struck through" this object/substance. It should add some value to your coin, but exactly how much is hard to say. I looked at three different error evaluation sites, but could not find a specific price range for struck-through errors. Your best bet may be to check completed auction results on Ebay, Great Collections, etc. for coins similar to yours. I would think that the hype surrounding these new issues would bring an extra premium, at least until the excitement settles down.
Congrats on a nice find.

In 1911, Phil Greenwald opened Greenwald Drugs in Vicksburg, MS. It was a branch location of Keefe and Greenwald Grocers, which he co-owned with Patrick Keefe, Jr.
The only denomination issued was a 5 cent token. This token is rare, with only a handful known to exist.
 

I had been keeping an eye out for this token and found one of the top pops for this die pair. Alabama was a single merchant state regarding civil war tokens. There are 32 varieties known of the White & Swann tokens with a total maximum population of about 175 pieces per current rarity ratings (R-8 to R-10 depending on token) 
The origin of White & Swann is unknown. Based on research I have a suspicion that the two names mentioned stem from the following:
Swann Farms was a large player during the time and still operates as a 6th generation farm in the Huntsville area. 
 
James White and Andrew Beirne were Virginia gentlemen, of the old school, both scions of old and influential families of the Old Dominion, with many of the virtues of the vices of that splendid type of the Anglo American known as the Old Virginia cavalier stock. James White was for a time in partnership with Alexander Gilbreath, the pioneer merchant in the county. James White was a man of considerable means and invested largely in real estate, owning with other property a fine body of land on both sides of Tennessee river near Whitesburg, which town received its name from him. He was blessed with a large family, of which Thomas W. White and Gen’l Ad. White are the representatives in Alabama, many of his descendants living in Virginia, where the family owned a large property.

Good point. In your opinion, is the OP's coins market acceptable?
By the way, this coin looks much darker on my phone than on my laptop.

Interesting. Most people seem to lean toward "intent" as their determination of AT/NT. Just so I am clear, do you judge between AT & NT based on whether or not the coin was in mint packaging or not? And, by "mint packaging," I mean burlap bags, paper envelopes, cardboard and paper mint sets, etc. Does this mean that you consider Wayte Raymond album toned coins to be AT? What about coins toned in paper rolls? 
I understand that intent can be difficult, if not impossible, to prove, or even determine - except in the case of certain Ebay doctors - but, most people that I have talked to are forgiving when it comes to what they perceive as "accidental" toning. And, sometimes, TPGs seem to be, as well.
I agree with your assessment of the likely cause of the toning on this coin, but I am more in the "intent" camp. A week of sitting in sulfur is definitely artificial. Decades of resting against a paper or cardboard surface seems more like the natural toning process to me.

NT

In Hoghead's thread on tax tokens (Link Here), Cladking mentioned tokens that were issued as change for food stamp purchases. I though I would post a few of the ones that I have.
As you can see, while the same reverse design was used on all of the examples - with only the denomination being different - the obverse designs varied quite a bit. Some stores used only their name, while others included the city name, their address, or even a logo.
The purpose of the tokens was to prevent change received from food stamp transactions from being used for non-acceptable purchases (alcohol, tobacco, pet food, etc.), by replacing the change from a purchase with a token that could also only be used for approved items. The tokens were color coded, to make it easier for persons who could not read, or persons who were not fluent in English.
 

Sidings, Mississippi was established in 1889. The name was changed to Meehan Junction in 1902, and to Meehan in 1950. A local story says that the area was once Choctaw "Holy Land."
The Acme Lumber company operated a yellow pine/ hardwood mill in the 1890s that produced 60,000 board feet of lumber per day.
Chatham's Mississippi Token book lists a 50 cent and 10 cent token - both unique. Trantow's Lumber Company token book has the same information. The 25 cent token that I have, which, from its appearance, was found by a metal detector, is unlisted. I purchased it in 2009, and have not seen another one for sale before or since. It is possible that it is unique, or a least very rare.
 

Three bars in Vicksburg - The Mansion House, Custis' Bar, and The Bar of the Shakespeare - issued paper Hard Times Satirical Notes in 1837, so these are the first pieces of exonumia listed in Rulau, which lists pieces chronologically. As for metal tokens, Benjamin Fotterall, seller of "silk, fancy, and staple goods of all kinds,"  and the Prentiss House hotel, both of Vicksburg, began issuing tokens in the early 1850s. Both listings say, "Approx 1852." I don't own a Prentiss House token, in fact have never even seen a picture of one. I do own Fotterall tokens in copper and bronze. The Prentiss House token is a $1.00 issue; the Fotterall tokens are advertising tokens, and have no face value on them.
 
 
 
 
 
As a addendum to my last post:
I had to go to Poplarville this afternoon, so I stopped by the city cemetery, and took these photos of Randolph Batson's grave:
 
 

Interesting. Most people seem to lean toward "intent" as their determination of AT/NT. Just so I am clear, do you judge between AT & NT based on whether or not the coin was in mint packaging or not? And, by "mint packaging," I mean burlap bags, paper envelopes, cardboard and paper mint sets, etc. Does this mean that you consider Wayte Raymond album toned coins to be AT? What about coins toned in paper rolls? 
I understand that intent can be difficult, if not impossible, to prove, or even determine - except in the case of certain Ebay doctors - but, most people that I have talked to are forgiving when it comes to what they perceive as "accidental" toning. And, sometimes, TPGs seem to be, as well.
I agree with your assessment of the likely cause of the toning on this coin, but I am more in the "intent" camp. A week of sitting in sulfur is definitely artificial. Decades of resting against a paper or cardboard surface seems more like the natural toning process to me.

Interesting. Most people seem to lean toward "intent" as their determination of AT/NT. Just so I am clear, do you judge between AT & NT based on whether or not the coin was in mint packaging or not? And, by "mint packaging," I mean burlap bags, paper envelopes, cardboard and paper mint sets, etc. Does this mean that you consider Wayte Raymond album toned coins to be AT? What about coins toned in paper rolls? 
I understand that intent can be difficult, if not impossible, to prove, or even determine - except in the case of certain Ebay doctors - but, most people that I have talked to are forgiving when it comes to what they perceive as "accidental" toning. And, sometimes, TPGs seem to be, as well.
I agree with your assessment of the likely cause of the toning on this coin, but I am more in the "intent" camp. A week of sitting in sulfur is definitely artificial. Decades of resting against a paper or cardboard surface seems more like the natural toning process to me.

Here's a couple of pics of a postcard, postmarked 1943, of downtown Fennville with the store front visible on the right side of the pic. For me, postcards are an essential piece of my token/scrip collection as most of the business are long gone, as well as some of the buildings. A postcard is probably one of the best ways to catch a glimpse of these stores while still in operation. 

If you were to take a picture of downtown today it would look much the same as most of the buildings pictured are still standing.

Here's a couple I got from my home state. I've been wanting to get a few from KY when I can. 

I love finding tokens that have a connection to my family or hometown. 
Do you own a metal detector? The ground around the entrance to the old store might be a good place to hunt.

Well, this thread just got my attention.

Wait! What!? Are you saying that when they were changing the dies, someone accidentally turned on the machine, and it spit out a few coins? Wow! That sounds like a good way for a fella to lose a finger!
Anyway, I have never heard of this. How did this make the coin look like this on both sides? Where did you find out about this error? Can you explain a little more, or point me to a link that has more information? I would like to do some more reading about this. Thank you.