Sandon

    Your topic will likely receive more attention in the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum, to which the Administrator will likely move it during the week.

    You should provide images directly from your computer, not shots of your computer screen, which are too fuzzy. You should provide images of each full side of the coin, as well as pertinent closeups.  From what I can see, there appears to be strike doubling (a.k.a. machine or mechanical doubling) north of the letters in "AMERICA", not evidence of a doubled die. See Double Dies vs. Machine Doubling | NGC (ngccoin.com).  If you aren't able to provide better images, you may want to check such sites as doubleddie.com and varietyvista.com to see if there are any known minor doubled die reverse varieties of 1996 cents that are a match.

   This coin has been damaged by acid, resulting in its rough and discolored surfaces and the excessive loss of metal at its core.  

    If you thought the coin was collectable, you shouldn't have been holding it with your bare hands, except by its edges if you must. Skin oils can also be quite detrimental.

    The coin is a close AM, not a wide AM. The "A" and "M" nearly touch at the bottom. The letters are farther apart on the wide AM, as shown on this NGC VarietyPlus photo:

   As for the grade, the coin appears to have too many nicks and spots to grade MS 67. MS 65, which in my opinion shouldn't be considered a "Gem" grade anymore, is a more reasonable assessment.

1929-D Lincoln cent in an old green bordered label PCI holder graded MS 65 Red & Brown. The grade seems reasonable.

1923-S Monroe Doctrine commemorative half dollar, PCGS graded MS 64:

Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.

On 5/11/2024 at 12:01 PM, dsgonzin said:

do you think it may be best to send it in and have them grade it?

Absolutely not!  The NGC Price Guide lists a 1978-S dime in PF 69 UCAM, the highest grade you could realistically hope to receive, at $25. The current CPG Coin & Currency Market Review lists them only at $14 even in PF 70! The minimum grading fee alone would be $19 (modern coin tier), plus the $10 per order processing fee, minimum $28 per order return shipping fee, and your cost of shipping the coin to NGC.

   If you meant to say that you want to try to get NGC to attribute this coin as an S over D overmintmark variety (additional $18 VarietyPlus fee), please be advised that NGC generally does not attribute varieties not listed on VarietyPlus, which this purported unknown variety isn't.  Although an exception would likely be made for a major discovery, it's fairly certain even from the photo you have provided that this coin isn't an overmintmark, which would look something like that on this 1954-S, S over D nickel (from VarietyPlus):

   If you want to try to provide better photos, (1) illuminate the coin using a lamp from the side instead of the overhead LEDs on your phone to reduce the glare and (2) if your phone is your only camera, save the images on your computer and post directly from your computer, not from photos of your screen. It's always somewhat difficult to image proof coins and coins in plastic holders.

   Please see the following links to learn how to distinguish between coins struck from doubled dies, which may be worth a premium, and coins exhibiting strike doubling, a.k.a. machine or mechanical doubling and other forms of doubling which are of no value:

 Double Dies vs. Machine Doubling | NGC (ngccoin.com)

 https://www.doubleddie.com/144801.html and links at the bottom of the page.

   Mintmarks were punched by hand into coinage dies until the early 1990s. They can vary in style as well as in position.

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

   Sorry, but I don't think that this is an "S over D", a variety not known to exist on a 1978-S proof dime. It appears to be the normal blobby "S" mintmark that resulted from a worn mintmark punch, as is commonly seen on proof and other "S" mintmark coins of the mid to late 1970s.  The deterioration of the punch led to the introduction of the thinner "type 2" "S" mintmark in 1979. 

   If you still think that this is an overmintmark variety, please provide a better, less brightly lit image from your computer itself, not a screenshot. It is preferable to provide cropped images of each full side of the coin, as well as pertinent close-ups.

    As there are no pre-1793 U.S. coins listed under VarietyPlus, this piece would not be attributable as a variety.  Clash marks usually aren't classified as a mint error but are regarded as a "die state".  This Fugio copper was also struck somewhat off-center, so it is possible that it could receive a "mint error" designation if that service were requested, but I wouldn't count on it.   

   The main rationale for submitting this piece to a grading service would be to authenticate it and determine that it has not been altered. The clash marks are obvious, and shouldn't need to be stated on a grading service label.

1946-S Lincoln cent, PCGS graded MS 66 RD:

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

   Please note that the Coin Marketplace forum is devoted to offers to sell or buy coins in accordance with the Guidelines posted at the top of the forum, not for questions about coins.  Such topics are welcome on the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum or the "U.S., World and Ancient Coins" forum, where they should receive better attention. I have requested the Moderator to move this topic.  It would also be helpful for you to post better-cropped photos of both sides of the coin.

   The missing details on this coin likely resulted from the reverse die from which it was struck being overpolished or filled with foreign matter. These sorts of anomalies can be interesting but usually don't make the coin worth much of a premium.  

   I strongly recommend that you don't touch a coin that you want to preserve with your bare hands, except by its edge if you must. Presidential dollars, which are largely composed of copper, zinc and manganese, are particularly susceptible to discoloration and spotting from exposure to skin oils.

   This 1942 Walking Liberty half dollar appears to be a proof, not a circulation strike. Based upon the photos, I would estimate the grade as PF 65-66.

On 5/9/2024 at 11:24 AM, Coinbuf said:

none of the 1882 minted coins are significantly rare

True, but an 1882-CC could still be worth $150 or so. 

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.  

    These Morgan dollars are all heavily and, I think, unattractively toned--we used to say "tarnished"--likely artificially. and perhaps to disguise an improper "cleaning".  I can't evaluate them further without clear, cropped images of each side, at least similar to the larger photo of the obverse of the coin dated 1882. We can't even determine at which mints the coins were struck without seeing the reverses, which could make a significant difference in their values. 

   The inadequacy of the images has nothing to do with this site, on which you will see many higher quality images.

   The coins referred to in the link you provided were not intentionally sold or issued by the U.S. Mint, nor would they have come in packages like yours. You would not have been able to buy them like this. They were either errors struck on wrong planchets or were experimental strikes.  They were either accidentally mixed with coins issued in bulk bags for circulation or, more likely, smuggled out of the Mint by unscrupulous employees for sale to coin dealers. Two mint employees went to prison for similar activities related to the State quarter obverse/Sacagawea dollar reverse "mules" that appeared at about the same time.

   What you bought as a child were undoubtedly normal State quarters that were "gold" plated by private parties after they left the mint. They were widely advertised to the public in mass circulation magazines such as TV Guide. I have seen many such offers. Undoubtedly, many thousands were sold. They have no value to serious coin collectors and have nominal value as novelties.

On 5/7/2024 at 8:45 PM, ghenadi said:

is it better to leave what I’m collecting in the factory capsule?

   Yes, it is better to leave U.S. government issued sets like yours in their original packaging.

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    I agree that this is likely a damage to the mint mark that occurred after the coin was struck, not an "error" or die variety. If the anomaly on the mint mark had been in the die, all coins struck from that die would show the same anomaly, and this should be a die variety listed on the vamworld.com site. The coin has many other nicks and abrasions from bag storage and circulation and appears to have been improperly "cleaned". 

    Multi-coin holders are "only available for select bulk submissions of certain coin types" upon confirmation with NGC Customer Service. See NGC Coin Holders | Holders for Coin Protection | NGC.  The submission form allows the selection of "oversize", "thick", or "mega" holders but not "multi-coin" holders.