Sandon

Welcome to the NGC chat board. My fourth edition of the nineteenth century volume of the Standard Catalog of World Coins (2004) indicates that the "FM" assayers' initials do not appear on colonial Mexican coins dated after 1802. The NGC World Coin Price Guide lists two varieties for the 1805 Mexico 8 reales, both with "TH" assayers' initials. World Coin Price Guide and Values | NGC (ngccoin.com). Therefore, your coin is likely counterfeit. Photos would still help.

The NGC Registry is an online platform that enables you to display and describe your NGC certified U.S. and World coins and your PCGS certified U.S. coins in sets and compete for points and rank in the competitive set classifications. The very top participants, not only in rank but in the quality of their photos and comments and the percentage of NGC certified coins in their sets, may receive monetary awards from NGC in the form of grading credits. You can also keep your sets private if you wish and use your entries as an inventory of your collection or create "custom sets" that are noncompetitive but allow you to organize and display your coins in accordance with your own criteria. You can get more information from the registry home page: NGC Registry | Online Coin Registry Set Collecting | NGC (ngccoin.com) I participate mainly in order to share photos of and information about my coins with other collectors without the security and other concerns inherent in transporting and exhibiting the actual coins. For an idea of what you can do with this platform, take a look at the 1792-1964 U.S. Type Set that I created with coins from my collection. Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com) The NGC Registry (and the somewhat similar PCGS Registry, which only allows PCGS certified coins) are generally not marketing forums through which one sells coins. Some owners of the highest-ranking registry sets have been known to consign the coins in their sets to major numismatic auction houses, who promote the coins as having been from such top sets, but the vast majority of participants cannot assemble sets of such distinction. If you have previously added coins to a coin list ("My Competitive Coins") and want to delete them, you may do so by clicking the "Delete" icon at the right side of each entry.

The OP previously posted a topic about this same coin on June 26. @RWB predicted that the results of a metallurgical analysis would show "a result of about 95% copper and 5% zinc with a trace of tin; that is, a normal 1953-D cent." (Emphasis added.) See 1953d underweight 2.7grams. - Newbie Coin Collecting Questions - NGC Coin Collectors Chat Boards. I recall that @RWB has research that shows that at this point in time the mint was only required to include minute traces of tin in cent planchets so that they were technically bronze until the authorization came in 1962 to entirely eliminate tin from the cent's composition. Such traces might very well not register in nondestructive metallurgical analyses. It's also unlikely that the absence of a trace of tin would have much to do with the coin being slightly underweight. The single photo of the coin's obverse shown in the previous topic shows that the coin has Very Fine or so details, has been "cleaned", and appears to have had part of its rim filed, which could explain its being slightly underweight. If NGC has examined this coin and found anything worth attributing due to its weight and/or composition, such attribution would appear on the NGC holder. If so, the OP should show a photo of the coin in its holder or provide the certificate number so that we may see just what NGC's findings were. So far, I have seen nothing to indicate that there is anything special about this common date, circulated Lincoln cent.

1836 Capped Bust, Reeded Edge half dollar, NGC graded AU 53, one of my best coins: Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.

Authentication and grading are two very important but different skills that are not, as your statement implies, exclusively possessed by third-party grading services that encapsulate coins, which have only existed since 1986, when PCGS opened for business. Every serious collector needs to know how to grade coins and have sufficient authentication skills to at least be able to identify the more obvious fakes. The authenticity of a coin is a question of fact, while grading, especially for unworn coins, is to some extent one of opinion. Third-party grading services such as NGC and PCGS do not grade coins that they have determined to be counterfeit or altered to resemble more valuable issues, and they have expertise and special equipment, such as XRF machines, that hopefully enable them to make this determination for the more deceptive pieces. See NGC Counterfeit Detection | Identify Counterfeit Coins | NGC (ngccoin.com). Their opinions as to a coin's grade are just that--opinions--but ones that tend to be accepted as reasonable in the numismatic marketplace because of their reputations and because they neither buy nor sell the coins they grade. My usual advice to new or inexperienced collectors or non-collectors who own coins is that they should not submit coins to grading services, as for most coins they would be unable to determine whether the coin is worth the substantial cost of such services without being unable to grade and otherwise evaluate the coin themselves. Your coin is an exception due to its high bullion value if genuine and possible additional numismatic value. Unfortunately, many smaller denomination gold coins, such as gold dollars and Indian Head quarter eagles, are among the most frequently counterfeited coins. Therefore, it is probably worthwhile to submit most classic (pre-1934) U.S. gold coins, with an exception for those of low denomination that if genuine are in such poor condition as to be worth less than $300 or so.

"With few exceptions, NGC will not attribute die varieties that require greater than 5x magnification to be clearly recognizable." What is a Variety? | NGC (ngccoin.com). Similarly, the Cherrypickers Guide to Rare Die Varieties includes a "helpful hint" that a variety requiring more than 7x magnification to discern is unlikely to be popular among collectors. I am something of a contrarian and usually use a 10x loupe to examine coins and occasionally use 15x but have never found any greater magnification to be desirable for any purpose.

1874 Liberty Seated quarter (with arrows, as are all of this year), now NGC graded AU 55:

Theoretically, yes, but based on the NGC Census and the PCGS Population Report, relatively few pieces of these dates that have been submitted qualified for an "FS" designation. See Jefferson Five Cents (1938-Date) | Coin Census Population Report | NGC (ngccoin.com), https://www.pcgs.com/pop/detail/category/84?l=jefferson-nickel-1938-date&ccid=0&t=3&p=MS&pn=3. You would have to find uncirculated rolls of these dates that hadn't already been picked through, probably no easy task forty years after the coins were issued! Most collectors who are interested in such so-called "strike rarities" buy them already third-party graded for premium prices. If you are just collecting Jefferson nickels in an album, I would just buy the best uncertified coins you can find for the date for reasonable prices at coin shows. (A dealer's "full steps" designation might not be agreed with by all collectors or by a grading service.) I saved some BU 1982 and 1983 (mostly "P") uncirculated nickels I received in change or from banks around the time of issue, but I don't recall any of them that would qualify for a "full steps" designation. There is no limit. NGC has graded Jefferson nickels without a "FS" designation as high as "MS 68", PCGS as high as MS 67. See the same pages I previously linked. (PCGS is apparently stingier in numerically grading this series and has graded very few coins higher than "67" even with the "FS" designation.) The cents, nickels and small dollars in the silver proof sets are exactly the same as those in the clad proof sets.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. Although better photos (cropped to show the coin more closely and not the surface on which it sits, upright, and without shadows) would help, it appears that this double eagle was polished or otherwise "cleaned", probably in a misguided effort to remove raised corrosion or adhesions from environmental exposure. The coin may have previously either been buried in the ground or immersed in seawater. The unnatural glossy shine and hairline scratches, which appear to be on the coin, not the 2x2 holder, are indicative of such a "cleaning". Be sure to remove the staples from the 2x2 holder before removing the coin! Many coins have been scratched by the dangling edges of staples while being removed from such holders. The coin appears to have About Uncirculated to Uncirculated details. It is not one of the most common dates of its type, and if unimpaired, it would have had retail list values on the NGC Price Guide ranging from $3,250 (AU 50) to perhaps $14,500 (MS 61). Liberty Head $20 (1850-1907) | Price Guide & Values | NGC (ngccoin.com) It is difficult to value an impaired coin. As any double eagle contains nearly a full troy ounce of gold (officially 0.9675 oz.), its bullion value, nearly $1,940 at Friday's gold price, may be considered a "floor" for its value. U.S. Gold Coin Melt Values | Gold Coin Prices | NGC Coin Melt Value. The coin probably cost a few hundred dollars in the 1970s. I have assumed that the coin is genuine. There are many fakes, some of which nevertheless contain gold. It is probably worth submitting to a grading service if for no other reason than authentication. If you are inexperienced in doing so, you should probably consult a dealer who is an authorized submitter. See Find Coin Shops & Dealers | Coin Dealer Locator | NGC (ngccoin.com).

I recommend that you look at this coin through an optical magnifier or loupe from different angles rather than through a computer image that may be distorted. I see only shadows and reflections in the areas you mention, not actual doubling of any kind. (It would be extremely unusual for both the obverse and reverse of a coin to be struck from doubled dies.) You should also compare it to other Thomas Jefferson presidential dollars to check for any actual difference from the normal design. The only readily collectible variant (technically, a mint error) of these coins are those with plain edges. See Collecting Missing Edge Lettering Presidential Dollars | NGC (ngccoin.com). Since about 1996 the mint has employed a "single squeeze" method of die making that has nearly eliminated all but minor doubled dies. (Thomas Jefferson dollars were minted in 2007; the date and mintmark are normally on the edge.) Most doubling on coins even before that time was strike doubling (a.k.a. machine or mechanical doubling) from dies that were loose in the press or die deterioration doubling from worn dies, neither of which is of value to collectors. See Double Dies vs. Machine Doubling | NGC (ngccoin.com). FYI, here is what a major doubled die coin looks like, the 1972 doubled die obverse Lincoln cent listed in the "Redbook". Note the crisp, clear doubling on all of the letters and numbers, with each image of about equal depth and the "notching" referred to in @EagleRJO's diagram. The reverse is normal.

1845 Liberty Seated dime, NGC graded MS 63 (catalogued as F-103, triple punched 5, a common variety): Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.

@EagleRJO--As I recall, mint officials decided that sets of uncirculated coins could just as well be assembled by private businesses and discontinued the issuance of uncirculated coin a.k.a. "mint" sets in 1982. Congress responded by enacted legislation requiring the mint to issue annual proof and uncirculated coin sets, so the issuance of uncirculated sets resumed in 1984. The coins in the Souvenir Sets are regular circulation strike coins of similar quality to those in uncirculated coin sets of that era, including the light scrapes from the packaging equipment on the high points of some of the coins. (The coins in my sets are still brilliant, with the exception of the 1983-D cent, which was covered with plating blisters, some of which have developed into areas of corrosion.) As shown in the OP's photos of the 1982 Philadelphia set, each set also included a good-sized bronze medal depicting the mint of issue. To the OP--The nickels in my 1983 Souvenir Sets, only have partial steps, so I don't think that these sets would be a likely source of "full steps" examples.

"R1" means that it is a common variety. All U.S. coins made through 1837 or so are classifiable as die varieties because of the way dies were made at that time, but in my experience unless the variety is believed to be "R5" or higher or has some particularly distinctive feature warranting a listing in a standard guide such as the "Redbook", it will not command a significant premium over the generic listings for the type, date, and grade. "R1" and "R2" varieties will generally command no premium whatsoever, while "R3" and "R4" varieties may command a modest to moderate premium if the coin is in higher grade. The Good details, bent, severely scratched and harshly cleaned 1837 Capped Bust half dime of an "R1" variety touted here would be of no interest to the small group of advanced collectors who collect this type by Logan-McCloskey ("LM") listed die varieties and would seek high grade examples of such common varieties. It is indeed a "junk coin", honestly saleable for a modest price only to young, casual or budget collectors, to whom the die variety attribution would be of little or no interest. Although the rarity scale used for earlier U.S. coin die varieties has differing interpretations, it is most frequently used with the following definitions: R1 Over 1,250 known. (This could be any number over 1,250, no matter how high.) R2 501-1,250 known. R3 201-500 known. R4 76-200 known. R5 31-75 known. R6 13-30 known. R7 4-12 known. R8 1-3 known. (Sometimes defined as "2-3 known", with "R9" used for unique varieties.) See, for example, Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins (1988) at p. 707; Greer, Brian, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Dimes at p.22.

In addition to the weight being within tolerance, the coloration of the coin is normal for a copper-nickel clad coin, not the softer white of a silver or silver clad coin. The edge of the coin being brown or copper colored would be a definitive indicator that this is an ordinary copper-nickel clad 1998-D quarter. Although, as I recall, a few 1974-D and/or 1977-D half dollars and dollars are known on 40% silver planchets that were intended for production of bicentennial coin collectors' sets at the San Francisco mint, that was in the era that such sets were being produced. What are the odds that any such planchets would find their way to the production floor of the Denver mint over two decades later?

Welcome to the NGC chat board. I agree with what @Greenstang has said regarding using the "Newbie Coin Collecting Questions" forum and posting clear, cropped photos of any coins about which you want to ask us. As a new collector, it is very important that you follow the saying, "Buy the book before the coin", which nowadays would include use of appropriate websites. Please see the following topics on the "Newbie" forum for recommended print and online resources to assist you in learning how to identify, grade, and value U.S. coins:

The mint sold these souvenir sets at its gift shops in 1982-83, when no uncirculated coin sets were issued. I purchased the 1983 sets for both mints at the Philadelphia mint in 1983. It's doubtful that you would find a "full steps" nickel in such sets, as they contained regular uncirculated coins. Moreover, the sets themselves are relatively scarce and now sell for a premium, and it would be a shame to destroy them by removing coins to send to grading services.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. As others have stated, the star next to the date and the inverted "4" near the liberty cap (not flag) on your 1867-S Liberty Seated half dollar (a relatively common issue) are counterstamps that someone added after the coin left the mint. There also appears to be a counterstamp (initials?) on the rock on which Liberty sits. (The small "S" below the eagle is a mintmark indicating that the San Francisco mint produced this coin.) The coin's unnatural color and hairline scratches indicate that it has obviously been "cleaned" at some point, perhaps before it came into the possession of your family. The coin has Fine to Very Fine details; but the counterstamps, which aren't those of known merchants that some collect, and the "cleaning" tend to devalue it. The $75 estimate (retail) is about right. The 1883 Liberty Seated dime is a common date in this series. All were struck at the Philadelphia mint. If the reverse is as nice as the obverse, it is in Very Fine or so condition, with a retail value of $30 or so. The 1861 silver three cent piece is a counterfeit, probably of contemporary (nineteenth century) origin that was passed as money rather than having been made to deceive collectors. Some people collect these contemporary counterfeits, but I can't place a value on it. A genuine piece of this type looks like this 1869:

1837 Plain Hair Cord, Small Letters cent (N5), PCGS graded XF 45. The coin has full AU details but also has some reverse planchet flaws, suggesting that PCGS net graded it.

1846-O Liberty Seated dollar (the first silver dollar struck at a branch mint), NGC graded VF 25:

Mintmarks at that time were all on the reverse, not the obverse.

Here is NGC's closeup photo of the so-called 2023 "Extra V": I'm not sure whether the OP's photo shows the same anomaly.

Welcome to the NGC chat board. Based on your photo, this appears to be a thread or other foreign matter that is lying on the coin or inside of the capsule and not something that was struck into the coin, so it is not a "mint error" in the sense that collectors use that term. As this foreign matter could cause the coin to "tone" unattractively over time, if you can open the capsule without breaking it and remove the foreign matter without harming the coin, I would do so. Be careful not to touch the coin with your bare hands or scratch (hairline) the coin when removing the material if it is on the coin. A light "flick" with a clean cotton swab or tissue should work. Reclose the capsule after removing the foreign matter. The other option would be to return the coin within the seven-day return period, but I think this item is "sold out"; and if so, the mint would likely refund your purchase price but not replace the coin.

Although this question would be better as a separate topic, there are two reverse styles for 1939 Jefferson nickels from all three mints. The "Reverse of 1938" had been used on all 1938 issues. The "Reverse of 1940" was introduced at some point in 1939 to strengthen the reverse details and is most noticeable on the steps. (The Reverse of 1938 was also used on a small minority of 1940 proofs but not on circulation strikes.) It is difficult to distinguish the differences on coins below Extremely Fine condition, so these varieties are generally collected on higher grade (mostly uncirculated) coins. Here are PCGS Coinfacts photos showing the differences:

Welcome to the NGC chat board. NGC clarified its policy on mechanical errors in September. See NGC’s Mechanical Errors / Returns Policy | NGC (ngccoin.com). If you are referring to errors in what is printed on the labels, it appears that you do not have a time limit. If there is a defect in the holders, there is still a 14-day time limit. In either case, you should contact NGC Customer Service on NGC's next business day for instructions. If you were seeking an answer directly from NGC on this issue, you should have posted this topic on the "Ask NGC/NCS" forum. This forum is for issues pertaining to the NGC Registry.

1840 Liberty Seated dollar PCGS graded AU 58, another of my better pieces: Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.