Coinbuf

It must just be me but I do not see anything that resembles a reverse mint mark.

Well that is an option.

Not really sure why I bought this coin, I already have one in MS64 so I surely did not need this undergrade MS63 coin. But I thought it looked nice with some pretty but not overwhelming tone to it, I think I'll send it off to CAC and hope for a gold bean. I am not a fan of trueviews but that is all I have for the moment. 1935-S, the mintmark is not well defined and looks as much like a D mintmark as an S.

Hook me up with those sites!! I need to strike while the iron is hot!!

Split plate doubling, form of strike doubling. Google it for an in-depth explanation.

Guests from out of town recently?

Posted where? As it is so simple why have you not replaced your generic avatar with a coin photo of yours.

Welcome to the forum, most of the time when you see doubling on the incuse portions of these quarters it is from strike doubling. Like Greenstang I just see this as strike doubling or from die deterioration, both worthless forms of doubling. Also; just to clarify; strike doubling is not an error but rather it would be a variety, so first you need to check and see if it is an already known variety. If not, you would have to submit it to have the variety authenticated before you could send it to a third party grader for grading including the variety on the label assuming the grading company recognizes that variety, many varieties are too minor for the major TPG's to attribute so you would need to check that also.

I think it is MD as most of the doubling that occurs now is seen more in the center of the coin. However, these new single squeeze doubled die coins are not like the old days so I cannot completely rule out that possibility.

Yep JP and Hog nailed it, I am guessing that if you soak this cent in some acetone that ring will come right off assuming that it has not eaten into the metal surface.

Private message, if you hover the mouse on Bill's avatar you will see a message box. Click that to start a private message session.

Excel is the go to spreadsheet for this type of information.

Well my first suggestion is that you be very careful before buying any coins from that fellow, your qtr looks to have been buried in the ground and is suffering from environmental damage. The reason you cannot find any info about a silver qtr from 1977 minted at the Denver mint is because there were no silver quarters produced at the Denver mint for 1977. I do not know how this jeweler came to his conclusion, however as there were no quarters made of silver at any mint in 1977 I'm very certain that he has given you some bad information. There were some 40% silver quarters produced in 1976, however those were only produced at the San Francisco mint. If he offered more than $1 for it, you should run back and take him up on that offer.

Pareidolia

Looks to me that you got the correct answer, paid a ton of money for it, but got it. Your photos only show a normal dime with some extreme strike doubling.

Will we have to kiss your ring finger then?

I agree this looks like simple strike doubling from the photo.

There is still a prevalent thought that coins in older holders say the OGH (old green label holder), rattlers, dollies, for the PCGS brand, and the old soap bar NGC holders that were in use before they added in the line about 1/3 down on the slab; that these coins were graded under more tight or stringent grading. That same analogy also applies to the early photocert and small holders of ANACS and to some now defunct companies like Hallmark and very early PCI. Those who embrace that line of thinking have now begun to include the slabs from both companies in the generations that came just after those holders with the full insert holder, prior to the current prong style. There is little evidence to support the notion that the newly included generations are actually undegraded, however given the rampant gradeflation there are going to be some coins that will upgrade from time to time. The problem is that most of these is hype, why is it hype you ask, well it is a long but simple explanation. Most of the stuff that you see floating around the bourse circuit or on venues like ebay still in old style holders have been picked over and these are the rejects. Coins that are not likely to upgrade or because the cost to try for an upgrade is more than the coin would be worth in the next grade up. A prime example are common date Morgan dollars like an 1881-S, there is a very minimal value spread from MS62 to MS64, so dealers do not feel that it is economical to spend $50 to get an MS63 into an MS64 holder when the MS64 only sells for $35 more than the MS63. And they are right, better to call the coin undegraded and sell it for a premium MS63 price than spend the money to try for the next grade. So that is the long answer, the short answer is yes, the grading companies have gone through periods of time where the grading has shifted due to varying factors like employee changes and management changes throughout their history. And yes, there is a belief that those coins can be identified by some generations of holders The only way to find really premium coins in these old holders is when an old time collection that has been off the market for decades suddenly appears and is sold, that is when you see the opportunity to really find true fresh undegraded coins in older holders. The problem is that as a collector you or I may have a very limited opportunity to see such collections before they are picked clean. Brick and mortar dealers see these opportunities on occasion and when they do, they use that opportunity to pick those coins that they feel are undegraded and have those coins regraded and placed into new holders. I was very fortunate to have that opportunity at the end of last year when a fellow inherited some great coins in older types of holders and came here to inquire about the best way to sell those. It turned out that he lived only a couple of miles away from me and I met with him to review the collection and discuss some strategies for selling. That was a real treat for me to see all those coins that had been held for thirty years +, that was a first and could well be the only time I'll be able to have that unique opportunity. Sorry for the long post but this subject is somewhat simple but with many minor nuances.

Np, we all forget about the little things now and again.

Hmmm well after just reviewing the approved list of varieties that NGC will attribute, I do not see VAM 3A on that list for 1887. So that would explain why your coin came back without the VAM designation on the label.

Sounds like you have a solid plan for your Rossie set, nothing wrong from making a few mistakes as long as you learn from them. As to getting back to the #1 slot for my Lincoln set, that is highly unlikely, the guy in front of my now has been spending a ton of money over the past year. He went from well down the list to having sets that rank #1 to #3 depending on which Lincoln set category you look at. He now is in the #2 spot in the most popular and competitive category, 1909 to current with varieties Lincoln set (my set is #6 in that category). If I had to guess I'd say that the coins he added to his Lincoln sets would have cost at least $30,000 just in the past year and the #1 set is still 200,000 points above his. I don't have the money to keep up with that kind of spending, not even close. In this category his top spot set is over 100,000 points ahead of me in the score, that would require me to spend at least $25,000 (likely more) to just catch up. Not going to happen as I don't have that type of cheddar to spend. And even if I did have the funds I'm not sure that I would want to, I like most of the coins in my set just as is. There are really only five or six that I would say I made a bad choice on and would like to upgrade the look or eye appeal of. I always kept the registry in perspective, it's fun and interesting but not a priority in my collection or my life so I don't overspend myself trying to win awards; well except for one set that I do want to retain the top spot if possible. I am ecstatic with my best presented win this year, that is a way for those of us that do not have unlimited funds to have fun with the registry and compete on a playing field that is not completely dependent on how much we spend. More than one way to enjoy the registry, even if I had never won a single award I would have been satisfied with my sets for what they represent, just an average guy having fun buying the best looking coins I can afford.

Did you include the VAM you think this coin is and pay for the variety attribution? I do not know if there are any VAM's that are looked for without you initiating the process.

A proof cannot be given an MS grade, it can be given a PF grade lower than 60, but not an MS grade.

Welcome to the forums, you have a coin with a counter stamp on the obverse side. I have no clue who stamped the coin or why it was done, this has been done for lots of reasons throughout the years. There are a very few collectors that like to collect oddities like this, however it has a very small value, perhaps worth $1-$2 to the right person.

Everything about it screams proof, the rims, the "look", the lack of marks/hits, and especially the fully formed steps. Even the highest graded examples of FS coins for this date do not have steps that well defined. Hopefully @Lem E will see your post and weigh in with his expertise on the series.