Sandon

Welcome to the NGC chat board. The links that @Coinbuf has provided to the NGC Coin Explorer and PCGS Coinfacts will provide you with a good bit of legitimate information about this and other types and issues of U.S. coins. The NGC and PCGS websites also have detailed price guides, population reports, and auction records. The catalog archives of some of the major numismatic auction houses such as Heritage (ha.com) and Stacks Bowers (stacksbowers.com) sometimes have detailed comments about specific issues of coins with the listings of rare or high-grade pieces. We have an old expression, "Buy the book before the coin." Nowadays you can conduct some research for free online, but some books and print and/or online subscriptions are essential. Based on current retail price guides, you likely paid around $1,000 for your 1853 half eagle graded AU 55. If you intend to buy other coins at this price level, wouldn't it make sense to spend a few hundred dollars on such resources? The following topic identifies some of them indicates and how you may obtain them:

If so, you will need to buy them from collectors and dealers. Significant mint errors--those visible to the naked eye or at low magnification--are hardly ever found in circulation! To the extent that they leave the mint by legitimate means, I am informed that they are usually intercepted by personnel at distributors and banks and sold to coin dealers. I've been collecting coins and checking change for 52 years and in all that time the most significant errors I've found are a blank cent planchet and a couple of broadstruck quarters, none of which would be worth more than a few dollars each. A collector I know who is now about 80 years old and collecting longer than I have been received a nickel struck on a cent planchet at a supermarket a few years ago, the only time in his life he has ever found a significant mint error. It has been NGC certified and may be worth a few hundred dollars. I have never found a piece of currency with a significant error, nor do I know anyone who has. We regularly see on this forum damaged coins and coins with minor anomalies that are classified as poor quality control rather than as mint errors that the poster insists are rare and valuable mint errors. These posters have never bothered to learn about coins or what is regarded as an error in the numismatic marketplace. As a new collector, you must learn about U.S. coins generally and how to grade and otherwise evaluate them, as well as learning about what constitutes a significant mint error or die variety. The following topics and other links should help you: Variety vs. Mint Error | NGC (ngccoin.com) Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 1 | NGC (ngccoin.com) Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 2 | NGC (ngccoin.com) Learn Grading: What Is a Mint Error? — Part 3 | NGC (ngccoin.com) As stated by @Greenstang, for a comprehensive overview of mint errors, see the website error-ref.com. You would also benefit from attending coin shows and coin club meetings, where you can see a variety of coins and currency and speak with knowledgeable dealers and collectors.

I happen to have the 1985 Quarterman Publications, Inc. reprint of Newcomb's United States Copper Cents 1816-1857, which was originally published in 1944. While both NGC VarietyPlus and PCGS Coinfacts have photos of most Newcomb varieties, I know of no website that has a verbal attribution guide for middle date (1816-39) and late date (1839-57) large cents. (The late dates are often difficult to attribute because by that time due to the use of "hubs" or master dies only the dates were punched into the dies separately, and attribution usually involves minor differences in date positions and on other minor die differences that often can't be seen on worn coins.) In addition to the Newcomb book, the bibliography near the end of the Redbook, of which I assume you have a recent edition, references the more recent works by Noyes and Wright for the middle dates and by Grellman for the late dates, which I haven't reviewed but understand to be helpful. There are online attribution guides for some other series of early U.S. coins, but I don't know of a comprehensive list of them. We have an old expression, "Buy the book before the coin!" While some research can be done online nowadays, a good numismatic library remains important and will be worth the expense if you want to get into numismatic research in a serious way. Additionally, attempting to attribute early U.S. coins by die variety is usually an activity of more advanced collectors, and it is important to learn the basics first. These topics may be helpful:

I think that this low-grade coin is the 1819, 9 over 8, N1, although the overdate feature isn't as clear as on most. It is clearly a large date, which is either an N1 or N2, the latter now also being thought to be a 9 over 8 overdate that is weaker than the N1. Your coin has the diagnostic features mentioned by Newcomb that are visible on this coin, for the obverse "left edge of curl [beneath bust] to right of 1", for the reverse "[t]enth [last] berry to left of center of right base of [first] A" in AMERICA, "E in ONE and T in CENT low." A comparison of the VarietyPlus photos for N1 and N2 with reference to these diagnostics also show a match with the N1, not the N2. The coin grades no better than Good and has some corrosion or environmental damage. It's probably worth no more than $25 or so.

1936-S "Mercury" dime, PCGS graded MS 65 FB in green label holder:

Usually, larger coin shows have an "ancient and foreign" area of the bourse floor where dealers in these types of coins tend to be together. I don't know whether this is so at Long Beach. These shows generally do have dealer directories and maps of the bourse floor to make it easier to find specific dealers.

The vast majority of 1957-D Lincoln cents, even bright red uncirculated ones, are worth substantially less than what it would cost you to have them third-party graded. The mint coined over a billion 1957-D cents, and dealers and collectors saved many uncirculated 5,000 coin bags. In typical grades such as MS 64 RD, they have a retail list value of $10 or less. The NGC Price Guide lists a MS 66 RD gem at $35 retail, and a dealer might only pay half of that price. The NGC grading fee alone is $23 per coin at the "Economy" tier. (Dealers sometimes get bulk discounts for submitting large numbers of coins of the same series, but it would still unlikely be worthwhile.) Only a coin that grades MS 67 RD or higher, which is very scarce, would be worth the cost of third-party grading, and you would have to have substantial experience in grading coins yourself to determine if any of your coins has a chance of grading that high. Someone who is "not a numismatist in any way" has no business submitting coins to grading services. In many states the law requires that the property of a deceased person be professionally appraised as part of the probate process. If the coins were not already so appraised, a lawyer should be consulted to ensure compliance with the law. In any case, you should obtain an appraisal from a coin dealer or other person who has the necessary expertise to evaluate these coins.

Yes, this is a "Plain 5". NGC charges an $18 variety attribution fee to attribute the "plain" and "fancy" varieties. I know of no research as to which variety is less common, but neither is considered to be scarce, so few collectors who might submit higher grade pieces are willing to pay this additional fee. The "plain" and "fancy" 5s also appear on 1865 Indian cents, neither of which commands a premium either. There are a number of repunched date varieties among 1865 and other dates of two cent pieces, some of which do command a premium among variety collectors.

I suppose that the possible explanation given by @J P M and @RWB is as good as any. Perhaps we could call this phenomenon an "evolving strikethrough". Thanks to all who participated.

1942 proof "Mercury" dime, PCGS graded PR 66, with green "CAC" sticker:

You could have first shown this item to knowledgeable dealers or collectors and/or posted it on this forum or others like it. After all, how was any coin authenticated before the advent of third-party grading services in the mid-1980s or ANACS and INS photo certificates of authenticity in the 1970s? I'm concerned that this may be a "fantasy piece" such as those made by Dan Carr t/a Moonlight Mint, who has created items such as "1964-D" Morgan and Peace dollars and "1908-S V.D.B." Lincoln cents by overstriking genuine coins of those types so that the result is of the correct weight and composition. I hope that this isn't the case. It would helpful if you could post clear, cropped "head on" photos of each side of this coin like these photos of a normal 1973 Eisenhower dollar:

Welcome to the NGC chat board. As you have already sent this coin to a grading service, I assume you don't want our advice. No, I have never heard or read of a 1977 Philadelphia Eisenhower dollar struck on a silver clad planchet. A few 1974-D, 1976-D and 1977-D pieces struck on such wrong planchets are known to exist, which as I recall were found mixed in with normal coins in mint bags or bank rolls. Your coin is either a major discovery or a counterfeit. The coin appears to have an unusual surface texture for a U.S. mint product of that era and to lack the bagmarks usually found on Eisenhower dollars made for circulation. The blurry and angled photos make it hard to tell for sure. Where and how did you obtain it?

Welcome to the NGC chat board. Please post clear, cropped photos of each side of the entire coin. It is very difficult to evaluate this coin without them. Please also review the following topic regarding posting topics on this forum:

As @Coinbuf pointed out, there are a few varieties of silver clad Eisenhower dollars, including some minor doubled dies and the 1971-S proof "peg leg R" variety, the latter not being very valuable. Those that are at all significant are listed on NGC VarietyPlus at Eisenhower Dollars (1971-1978) | VarietyPlus® | NGC (ngccoin.com). If you find any of these among your coins, the NGC Price Guide does show values for some of these varieties, but only the 1971-S Proof doubled die obverse (DDO) FS-103 seems to have substantial value. PCGS Coinfacts may have additional information. It is my impression that there is limited demand for most of these varieties.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. Please note that an inquiry of this nature should have been posted in the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum, not the NGC Registry forum. I assume that the Eisenhower dollars to which you are referring are all silver clad (40% silver) "S" mint uncirculated or proof coins that were sold directly to collectors at the time of issue. The uncirculated coins were issued in soft plastic sheets housed in blue envelopes, the proofs in hard plastic cases housed in brown boxes. If you have other Eisenhower dollars, please provide a better description of your holdings. These coins all had relatively high mintages for collectors' issues, and the vast majority probably still exist. It is unlikely that they will increase much in value for the foreseeable future, barring a very substantial increase in the price of silver. At today's silver price, these coins contain only $7.50 each in silver. It is extremely unlikely that any of these coins would be worth the cost of third-party grading. Based on current Coin World and NGC Price Guide prices, only uncirculated pieces that would grade MS 67 or better for the 1971-S or MS 68 or better for the 1972-S, 73-S or 74-S would have retail (dealer selling) values in excess of $100, the lowest value I think they could even arguably be worth the grading and processing fees and shipping costs. You would have to be highly experienced in grading yourself to determine whether any of your coins could possibly be worthy of such lofty grades. The proofs don't have sufficient value even in PF 69 UCAM, the highest listed grade. NGC has not graded any of these coins PF 70. Your decision as to what to do with these coins will depend upon your financial situation and your goals as a collector. If you have no need for funds and have no problems storing the coins, you may as well hold onto them. If you have better use for the money you could get for them, whether to obtain other coins or for more pressing needs, you could attempt to sell these coins to dealers at coin shows or shops or to collectors whom you may know. Local coin clubs usually have club auctions or trading sessions. You could also try to sell them on eBay or similar platforms if you are familiar with them. They are probably worth $8 or so each to dealers in the usual grades, $10 to $14 to collectors, with a somewhat higher price (perhaps $20 or so) for any 1973-S silver proofs.

It's amazing how some people just see what they want to see.

1834 Capped Bust half dime, PCGS graded MS 62 (old green label holder):

1851 large cent, uncertified AU, lot 593 in the May 1996 sale of the famous Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. collection, from which I purchased it for $154, one of the cheapest lots in the sale. It was catalogued as and appears to be an N30, not a very distinctive variety. This memento of a famous collection looks nice in my Library of Coins album:

Welcome to the NGC chat board. This topic would have best been posted in the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum, not the NGC Registry forum. I assume that you are referring to the orientation of the edge lettering so that it is upside down relative to the obverse. I checked online and found the following article at https://coinparade.co.uk/edge-inscriptions-on-the-round-one-pound-coin/, which has the following to say about this phenomenon: Edge inscription upside down? You hear of collectors having ‘error coins’ where the coin has been mis-struck. There’s big excitement over the edge inscription being upside down. Sorry to disappoint but according to the Royal Mint there is no right way up. The edge inscription is rolled onto the coin blank before the blank is struck so it’s 50-50 which way up the inscription will appear. There is also "no right way up" for modern U.S. circulation quality dollar coins made since 2007 with edge lettering such as Presidential and Native American dollars. At the U.S. mint the edge lettering is added in a separate operation after the coins are struck with no regard to which side of the coin is facing up while the lettering is added.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. The simple answer is that it is a fake, and a rather crude one at that. (It probably isn't even made of silver.) Many such fakes have been made over the years. Only fifteen genuine 1804 dated silver dollars exist. A genuine one looks like this: PCGS photos. (1804 "Class I" silver dollar) The story of these coins is somewhat complex. Suffice it to say that all of the genuine coins were made from the same obverse ("heads" side) die that was combined with two different reverse dies to strike different coins. Notice how different the obverse of your "coin" is from the illustrated genuine piece in terms of the size, shape and placement of Liberty's head, the stars, and the letters, which are identical on all genuine pieces. If you are interested in learning about U.S. coins, we can direct you to appropriate print and online resources.

1937 proof Buffalo nickel, NGC graded PF 66 with green CAC sticker: Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.

1938 Jefferson nickel, PCGS graded PR 64:

By the time that your children or grandchildren inherit your coins, grading standards and the numismatic market may be as different from today's as today's are from those of fifty years ago, when I was a young collector. Coins that graded in the AU range by 1980's standards are third-party graded MS 63 today, as demonstrated by a topic I recently posted and will link below. (Would you want them to sell a MS 63 coin for AU money based on decades old grading?) Grading standards have periodically both tightened and (mostly) loosened over the decades. NGC recently introduced a ten-point grading with decimals system for modern coins as an alternative to the seventy-point grading system now in use, and it is conceivable that that or some other new system will eventually replace the current system for all coins, rendering existing third-party grades obsolete. Assuming that the grading standards don't change, I will grant that third-party grading may make your coins easier to appraise. Apart from that, I consider it generally disadvantageous to have lower value coins--which I personally define as any coin worth less than $500 or so--third-party graded, for reasons that include the following: 1. The cost of having the coins graded will only be worthwhile if it means that a dealer or other buyer would pay you more than the sum of what he or she would have paid you anyway, plus that cost. For lower value coins like common date Morgan dollars in non-Gem (65 or higher) grades, this is unlikely. 2. Certified holders will substantially increase the volume and weight of your collection, making finding sufficient safe storage space and transportation more difficult. I'm learning this myself the hard way. The safe deposit box in which I store a few hundred certified coins is the only one that I need a hand truck to move, and I'm running out of space for more "slabs". I can store a lot more coins in albums or more compact holders in the same amount of space with less weight. 3. Many collectors still prefer to collect lower priced coins uncertified, in albums or other holders. Dealers at smaller coin shows have told me that the bulk of their business is still in uncertified coins, and I've seen collectors turn down certified coins because they couldn't be placed in their albums without cracking them out of the "slabs". Here is the link to the topic to which I referred:

Although this relatively minor doubled die cent will benefit from being listed in the Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties, as indicated by the "FS" (Fivaz-Stanton) number, and by being recognized by the major grading services, it will never attract much attention from the broader numismatic community because it isn't listed in the "Redbook" or other major numismatic guides and will likely never be. All of the Redbook listed doubled die varieties, unlike this one, are readily discernible to the non-farsighted naked eye or under low magnification. Some, like the 1955 and 1972 type 1 doubled die obverses, command high prices even though thousands of each exist due to the demand from regular Lincoln cent collectors. The 1958 and 1969-S doubled die obverses combine prominent doubling with extreme rarity and publicity. The only doubled die reverse Lincoln cent listed in the Redbook is the 1983, which also features far more prominent doubling than this 1966 variety. A minor doubled die variety like this one is likely only to be of much interest to a relatively small group of specialists. Its scarcity actually weighs against its value being readily determinable due to the infrequency of publicly recorded sales. If you wanted to sell this coin, it would be most likely to attract multiple interested collectors through a major numismatic auction house such as (in alphabetical order) Goldberg (goldbergcoins.com), Great Collections (greatcollections.com), Heritage (ha.com) and Stacks Bowers (stacksbowers.com). Many serious collectors avoid doing business on ebay, except with sellers who are known to be reputable coin dealers.

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