powermad5000

For the same reasons as stated by Mike, I would have to say the OP's coin would grade AU 53 but I don't think it would get higher than that. I do not have the coin in hand however so that is just an opinion.

To the OP, this is a tricky series to grade. Not all of these nickels were fully struck, or struck well and that is taken into account at the grading table. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern between wear and a poorly struck specimen. That said, however, strike is one of the top things a professional grader is going to look at. A coin with zero scratches, marks, or hits with a fantastic surface might only grade as low MS if it is poorly struck. And a well struck coin with minimal wear in AU grades can be mistaken as an MS which is also known in the coin community as an AU slider. In this series, added twists to grading them also exist by year, and by mint so this is really a difficult series to try to self grade. You would have to put in a lot of work and research in order to self grade this series well and why I state my self grade of this by a photo is merely an opinion.

It is excellent that you are handling the coin by its edges. 

However, I really cannot even entertain you with an opinion of grade or value from the photos provided. They are too far away for me to see what I need to see.

It might be helpful for you to put the coin on a table and then take the pics, make sure they are clear, and then fully crop them before posting them.

P.S. I should not know that you had to take your shoes off. 

On 3/26/2024 at 9:50 PM, VasquezJ said:

Either all 3 different coin dealers were wrong or you’re wrong.

There it is @Henri Charriere.  When words fall on deaf ears, that is why certain responses are elicited from some members, myself included.

Being this is the second time I recall on these posts being made upon which opinions stated are not entertained, and this time blatantly called out as being wrong, I will however, HC, use from this point your other mechanism. Consider it done.

Once again, the OP needs to submit these coins to NGC asap and come back to this thread and post photos of the returned coins in the slabs.

I am very confused about this entire thread. It is on the copper side of the silver on the back behind feathers of wheat.

I do not see anything different from a normal 2003 D Arkansas Statehood Quarter. I shall provide you with the obligatory warning I have had to issue to a handful of others who bought a scope and went crazy with the thing.

It is best to put the scope down. While it may be handy for assessing minor varieties in question, it should not be used in any other instance. TPG's don't use it. Most serious collectors don't use it (once again unless it is to try to determine a minor variety). A scope can turn the tiniest die chip into a mountain, or the tiniest scratch into the Grand Canyon.

Compare your quarter to one of the same year and mintmark. I am sure there is no difference.

While I am into paper money as well and have a minor collection of some of it, even I realize this is not the forum to ask questions about it. Coins - yes. Paper - no.

I believe there is a separate forum for questions regarding paper currency. 

Is the concern whether or not there is a space between Red and book as in Red book VS Redbook?

I will admit, this is minutia that my brain has not bothered with, but I just had to get up and go downstairs and look on mine. There is a space between Red and Book.

Which means Redbook is a non numismatic magazine.

Thanks @Henri Charriere for the additional staircase exercise today!

No cigar. Finding a third one of these is like playing the Powerball and winning. But, you gotta play to win right?

There is so many people laser focused on finding a third one of these that I have to believe it does not exist. Literally hundreds of posts on here in the last few years alone with people claiming they have found a third. Answering questions about large date/small date 1982 D Lincoln cents has got to be the #1 topic in this forum.

Don't feel bad thpugh. I will admit I even check the weights on my 1982 D small dates, but I honestly don't expect to find anything out of the norm.

On 3/25/2024 at 8:42 AM, Mustacheman said:

I know exactly how coin collecting works and unfortunately it is a little boring how grading is done.

You may maintain this ideology if you wish. I find grading quite interesting. It is in fact very difficult and two different sets of eyes looking at the same coin typically will result in two different grades as everyone's eye sees something a little different. And most people struggle with grading. I find it interesting on how in MS the number of factors to look at actually increases as greater scrutiny is involved as MS coins by their definition have no observable wear with 10 points of the Sheldon scale now in play. If you really want to twist your brain, throw in + grades and * grades in the mix. I still have not figured out where the thin line comes into play regarding those and when they are awarded to a coin.

On 3/25/2024 at 11:30 AM, Stan Gioia said:

Is there a test to tell what a coin is made of besides weighing.

There is an XRF test but it typically only reads the surface metal and not the core. There is also a specific gravity test, something I have never had to perform on a coin but is also another test besides weight. Also, you would have to crack the cent out of the holder for these tests to be performed. Seeing as you are dead set this is a transitional cent, then I would crack it out and have whatever tests performed until you finally accept what answers are given. I would then also have it reweighed by a certified jewelers scale that is not yours and is known to be calibrated correctly. While you seem to be dismissing weight altogether, I will say its weight is the main indication that this is NOT a bronze transitional cent which, once again, would weigh between 3.05g-3.08g. This given weight of the bronze transitional cent is not open to "almost close" or "in the area of". 

To add a little levity to the discussion currently underway, I did note in the Mint list provided by @RWB that butts were to be delivered.

I am not seeing this effect of a dime somehow struck onto the obverse and reverse of this enlarged cent.

What you are trying to describe is a struck Lincoln cent was also somehow struck with a set of clashed dime dies? Even if that were true by a mint employee's tomfoolery, the end result would still not appear as your cent does.

The rim on your cent looks the way it does because of whatever force was used which caused the cent to expand in size drove the edges of the rim out over what was the original rim struck in the collar.

I would note to @Greenstang's comment, to compare the same mintmark as well as the same year when comparing your coin to other samples. Even the different mints have slight differences in the strikes of their coins. We seem to have come to a loose consensus in the forum here that the Denver mint had better quality strikes overall.

I see severe die erosion doubling on this nickel. This looks like a very late stage set of dies as the sloped like look is not even producing an image of doubling anymore but rather you can see how much metal was allowed to flow out of the recesses of the die to make the letters and numbers look even bigger than normal. Look especially at the bottoms of the R and T in the 4th photo. Enough metal was allowed to flow out that the severe sloping of the lettering is basically touching at the bottoms of those letters. I could only imagine if those dies were left in service any longer, they would have developed cracks.

And, the FS you were referring to in this case is for Full Steps which NGC recognizes either 5 FS or 6 FS. What this means is on the center set of steps, each step must be full and complete all the way across end to end. A hit across the steps usually will negate a nickel getting an FS designation. Also, wear across the steps will usually make the steps flat and blend into each other which will also negate the FS designation.

Hello and welcome to the forum and the hobby!

Given the background which you have just provided us with inheriting a somewhat large collection, you should get yourself a current Redbook of United States Coins, as well as a copy of a book titled ANA Grading Standards for Untied States Coins, 7th Edition. There are two things to keep in mind as you sift through the collection. Just because a coin is very worn does not mean it is not worth much (think 1916 D Mercury Dime, and 1909 S VDB Lincoln Wheat Cent) and just because a coin seems to be in fantastic shape does not mean it is worth a fortune (think 1959 D Lincoln Memorial Cent in MS 66 RD listed currently in the price guide as $27.50).

You also can refer to NGC's Coin Explorer right here on this website, if needed you can refer to PCGS Coinfacts, and you can also post any coin from the collection here that you are wondering about. Just remember if you post pics of the coins here to keep it at only one coin per thread (yes, we would rather have a bunch of threads to look at rather than 20 coins in a single post to comment on), and provide clear, cropped photos of both sides of the coin. Your photos here, while decent, could be a little more clear and cropped a little closer.

I hope this helps you!

I have to say @Noob115 you are definitely off on a good path in this hobby! Keep going! It is very rewarding after a while.

And you are definitely correct when you say we are the caretakers of these coins. None of us get to take them with us when we go. I believe I have said that in a post long ago in regards to people handling their coins not by the edges.

I will say for myself, the money has just been a limiter of what I can and cannot own. Collecting however began for me holding something that was made over 100 years ago and who could have had it in their pocket way back then and who could have had it since. And where it travelled to along how many miles. And what the country looked like back then. That is what I found fascinating and what pulled me into collecting. I will admit my collecting has changed since I started 45+ years ago and even in the last 10 years. There are coins I can afford now that I couldn't back then. And I am now going after only the best examples I can locate. I figure I can buy tons of nice coins but lower MS grades. I am finding it worthy of my time to hunt very high grade examples to add to my collection. I will blame the remaining space left in my SDB on this as well, but I have always wanted to collect coins in conditions where it is easy to see what it looked like way back then. Sure, I could probably have just about every coin of every series except some of the ultra rare ones all in Poor 1 or AG 3, but that wouldn't interest me as much as looking at ones in superior shape.

You can collect whatever and however you like. It is part of the beauty of this hobby and nobody can tell you what you collect is wrong. You collect what you want to. We all have that right.

Just sharing some of my background with you to show you it is ok to continually readjust your collecting habits. You don't have to pin yourself to one thing unless you really want to.

While the photo without a secondary size reference in it to show the OP the difference in size, the first thought I had when the OP posted the side by side was a Texas cent. However, being this cent is only 1mm larger, it is either possible someone gave up on the hammering of making a Texas cent or the coin simply got run over on some smooth concrete and then circulated some more with the circulation wear eliminating any evidence of it being run over a few times in a parking lot.

Thank you for the photo updates here. Very helpful! 

As others have stated that is post mint damage. The eagle took a hit on the tail.

Post mint damage = less value.

Mint error for strike through = more value.

This on your coin is not a strike through error as those do not have the appearance as there is on the coin you have posted here. I can see on your coin along the edges of the hit where there is metal piled up at the edge from the impact of whatever did the damage. Strike through errors do not have this metal piled along the edge of the defect and some strike throughs even have some of the detail faintly showing from the strike in some cases. On your coin, I also can see other hits from circulation although not as large of a hit as on the eagles tail.

In the case of this dollar, there were many collectors saving these coins singularly and by the roll when they first came out. Superior examples are readily available and for low cost as many were saved in mint state. With the circulation hits and the minor "chatter" in the fields on both sides of your coin, I would say it is worth face value.

On 3/24/2024 at 1:12 AM, cobymordet said:

PM5K, twice today you have dragged me to the light of my gross oversight.  No DDO, just DDR.

I was not trying to call you out onto the carpet. I was just wondering if there was a source I had overlooked. Even I make mistakes sometimes and overlook things. Seems this happens mostly when I am beyond tired from working. I received a day off Friday so with my three day weekend ongoing and having gotten an 11 hour and a 10 hour sleep shift in the last two days, I am feeling sharp and alert!  

Well, there has been a development on my end here @Henri Charriere!!!! My phone just requested to download an app called Norton Genie.

With it, all I have to do is take a picture of the screen, and the AI feature of the app will check and test the link for me and let me know if it is safe or not.

For the future, you do not have to compromise your own security on my behalf as I now have AI on my side! I can now safely go to links if I so choose. It is a bright, new day over here!

Don't worry, though, I will always remember your act of kindness putting yourself at risk on my behalf. Now if I could only locate that last Rooster you need...

On 3/24/2024 at 12:19 AM, cobymordet said:

Maybe I need glasses, that I cannot deny, but where oh where is the bag in there?

It is inside the little circle on the right just above the blue NGC letters.

Hello and welcome to the forum!

On 3/24/2024 at 12:17 AM, cobymordet said:

there is a minor DDO for the 1972 quarter.

Where did you find this? I checked Variety Vista and Wexlers and neither site had a DDO for a 1972 D much less one for a 1972 (P). I am just wondering what site you were on that had this listed.

To the OP, from what I am able to ascertain from a search, there is no listed 1972 D Washington Quarter DDO either in NGC's Variety Plus (this website), Variety Vista, or Wexlers. I found a listing for a 1972 D Washington Quarter DDR on Wexlers but that is not what is being discussed here.

In light of that, I took a pic of your coin so I could zoom in on what you might be seeing, and it is of my opinion that there is some minor strike doubling on the left of the L of LIBERTY and on the face and head of George, but it is not legitimate doubling which would be given a variety attribution.

Hello and welcome to the forum!

What I see on your coin is 100% post mint damage. To me, it almost looks like that is a counterstamp of a number 8. I do remember watching some kids in grade school who made their 8's by making two small O's. It could also be possible it is two counterstamps of a tiny 'O' or a small zero. Either way, it was intentionally done after it left the mint and not struck that way in the striking chamber.