RWB

Are you referring the the black mark? Cant' tell much from your photo -- it's sharp and clear, but doesn't show if the black mark is damage or a minting error. For this coin, it would likely grade since older coins are not held to the standard of modern pieces. Likely VF-EF.

If this is the first identification, that is top the OP's advantage. Now he has to do some research among FDR dime collectors. If it turns out to a desirable variety, then it should be independently evaluated.

Never met him. Never met Elmer Gantry, either. Check? What check? (The book was a prop, just like the plastic flower and the rented set furniture.)

Possibly a gouge from a die dressing tool. Very unusual and prominent die variety.

Algae bloom. [It means the TPG did not bother to verify that the plastics they were using were stable. Lucky it's not green slime by now.]

Depends on what the "T" stands for.

Gold was not in the hands of most people in any country -- it was simply too valuable. One had to be middle class or above to ever be exposed to it. For most of the gold coin era the middle class was small -- most people were lower class or poor.

Thanks! That book and the other two companion volumes are almost 20 years old now. I remember sitting in the parents' waiting room at gymnastics working on copies of archive documents and piecing together events and people. (With occasional breaks to make sure my girls had not fallen or koncked their noodles.)

The open market price of gold exceeded $20.67 by 1914. There was notable agitation to raise the official price. It fluctuated over time and by 1932 was consistently above $20.67 - mostly pushed by growing commercial demand and speculators. Would you have a similar "problem" if a few months later gold was worth $16.00 per ounce? People who turned in gold or gold equivalents got exactly the same as if they had deposited it in a bank, or bought a barrel of gherkins with it. No American lost money.

No, not like that drugged, emasculated mule on the Ike dollar or Anthony dollar !

The government did not confiscate gold. A few people got caught trying to hoard it, but even they were paid the full legal tender value. Many pwople used the "coin collection" exemption - the fellow who bought 50 DE from Treasury could have done that, but did not....probably didnt know. Whatever "sources" you are using a either ignorant, or biased, or maybe just grabbing emotionally-charged words with intent to distort or confuse.

A neighbor of Poland.

Any model is subject to revision and/or updating as better data become available. So far as I am currently aware, no new verifiable data has come forth that would alter the estimates. Anecdotes about "newly imported" coins are exactly that: anecdotes and unsubstantiated comments. Further different models give different results since they will use different initial quantities, assumptions and calculations. Much like the various weather prediction models, the test is how accurately does a model predict an outcome when compared to reality. For DE, that is impossible to determine except for patterns and things like 1927-D and the possibly the 1930s dates.

This is a false statement. No gold was confiscated. All who surrendered gold coin or gold notes (the overwhelming majority of $$$) were paid the full legal tender value. They had no loss or gain. Speculation about "could have" or "was worth" is analogous to unrealized profit or loss on anything one owns. I.e., I bought Google stock at $80 in the IPO, until it is sold it is still "worth" $80/share but carries an unrealized gain or loss.

Notice also, that the coils have legs and feet, as shown in EagleRJO's photo, above. By attaching legs and feet to the large coils, the Mint is able to move them faster and guide them more accurately than by using hoists, fork lifts, and other means. When small but very precise movements are required, the coils are placed on a quantity of trained ants who respond to verbal commands.

When time a NCLT coin or bullion piece is removed from it's original holder it is exposed to unnecessary risk of damage and surface contamination (spots). The best approach to coin conservation is to leave it in the capsule in which it came. (Yes -- I realize many enjoy paying extra money for no meaningful value.)

No. Look to the left on the truncation of the bust -- between the field and his shoulder. They are often faint or indistinct. They were added in 1918.

The presses used for .999 gold and silver were modified over a decade ago to avoid marring the delicate pure metal surface. But, once removed from the original Mint capsule, anything could happen.

You'll find Lincoln's BVDs UNDER his coat and shirt....not on his chest. "V.D.B." are the designer's initials. They stand for "Victor David Brenner." His original reverse design had "BRENNER" at the bottom reverse. The Mint engraver shortened this to V.D.B., then the Sec of Treasury got over anxious when the Washington Star newspaper claimed - with no authority - that the initials were an advertisement. (If you want all the details and photos look in my book Renaissance of American Coinage 1909-1915.)

Sure. They are also the color of pure gold, not alloyed gold. Your 0.999 bullion pieces will be AU in an instant if touched. Normal US or Sterling gold would show nothing.

Short answer - not likely. Long process, steep learning curve, bribes not accepted.

The coin is EF --- not even close to being Unc. Die cracks are common and might not be considered a die variety by VAM world people.

There are no initials on Lincoln's chest on your coin or any other Lincoln cent mad at the US Mint. After a coin leaves the Mint all kinds of things can happen -- but none of them are of any value or numismatic interest. If you can;t show the written quote from Heritage, then it does not exist as far as anyone else can know. Just some facts. We return you now to Fox "News."

Too busy....A neighbor is fighting for its life.

RE: Gold coin "softness." Experiments and controlled measurements at the Royal Mint in the 1880s established that die struck gold coins had just a hard a surface as silver, and both were a lot better than copper. (See Roberts-Chandler, et al.) Unalloyed gold and most native samples are soft, but coin gold alloy is hard and striking actually increases the surface resistance to abrasion -- that is: a struck coin's surface is harder than that of the blank planchet from which it was made. The heavier a coin and/or the greater the distance it falls from press to receiving box, the greater the number and severity of surface damage.