Lem E

On 11/14/2022 at 5:43 PM, J P M said:

This MS68 FS SMS is nice it is just not as matt looking as your 68 in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 years of this mess to wade through. Thanks for nothing US Mint. 

On 11/14/2022 at 4:36 PM, J P M said:

There may be some oil on the 06 from the mint packaging and it is making the coin look bad....... Or not LOL....  and yes the whole 2006 to 2010 SMS is a pain in the butt if you ask me. Trying to find a regular strike coin for my set is difficult everything comes up SMS

That 06 is beat to hell. Scratches and marks all over the obverse and it simply looks like a regular strike finish. Below is the coin that got me looking into this particular subject. Graded as a MS-68 6FS coin. Pop of 2/0. When I got it in hand I was pretty certain it wasn’t a regular finish coin but I wanted to see other examples. After getting my SMS sets I was convinced it was not a regular strike. It’s just too clean.

I apologize for straying off topic from the original heading of this post but in the grand scheme of things it is relevant. Here is another shot of that same Kennedy half from above pulled out of the packaging and I set it next to a 1995 example that was given to me as change from a gas station. I know there were no SMS coins in 95. If there is some type of “special finish” that was used in 1995 I am unaware of it. The 06 is just a complete turd. The reverse isn’t nearly as bad. 

On 11/14/2022 at 7:34 AM, J P M said:

I do not think the coin I picked up on Friday is a SMS or Satin Finish 2006 D coin. You can see it on my JP Nickel thread.

I think these coins are going to be a slippery slope. I think it is going to be hard to tell the difference between a nice MS coin and a bad SMS coin. I have a little experimental project going on with these. I don’t have a lot of experience with the SMS coins or really any of the coins from this date span. I bought 4 2006 uncirculated sets and 4 rolls of mint wrapped nickels also dated 2006. I’m not even sure what will be in the rolls. I’m hoping they are just regular coins. A nice SMS coin is pretty obvious but, in just the two uncirculated sets that I have looked at, I have noticed a difference in the quality. The Kennedy half in one of the sets doesn’t even resemble the Kennedy half in the other set. I figured I would try to collect up some examples of both types of coins and do some comparisons. I would like to see if I can find any type of marker or design element that would help differentiate between the two other than just the finish. The rolls are supposed to be here today but I am at work. From the info I have gathered, all of the uncirculated sets from the mint from 2005-2010 are considered the SMS/satin finish coins. There were no regular coins in these sets. Here are the two Kennedy halves. Both from sealed SMS sets and the difference in the finishes is quite a gap.

On 11/14/2022 at 11:24 AM, robec1347 said:

Nice color on that one robec. Thanks for posting it.

I’m starting to run into a similar attribution problem as I start to get into the SMS/satin finish coins from 2005-2010. I picked up a 2006 coin that was supposed to be a high grade MS coin and ended up being a SMS coin. It’s all a learning experience. 

I will be sending this coin back. Sending it off to be corrected would get me nowhere. The seller pics were just slab shots so the step detail was hard to see. I took a shot and I always presumed from the start there is a 50/50 shot of it being wrong. The hunt continues. Thanks for everyones help.

On 11/13/2022 at 4:48 PM, FlyingAl said:

Definitely a Reverse of 1940. Note the sharp definition at the right side of the steps that is the giveaway. 

On 11/13/2022 at 5:01 PM, Simple Collector said:

No doubt reverse of 40.

Thanks guys. I agree. I haven’t had very good luck filling this slot. The first coin I purchased turned out to be a fairly costly mistake. It was one of 2 graded at MS-67 5FS with one finer. I had to battle a few bidders for it. I never really questioned the label at first. Just thought I had found a nice scarce piece. Turns out the steps were rev of 40. I had to pull it to keep the integrity of the set. Certainly made me learn the difference though. 

On 11/13/2022 at 3:33 PM, Sandon said:

   I agree that this is a "Reverse of '40" with weak steps. On the Reverse of '38 the steps are lighter and slightly "wavy", while on the Reverse of '40 the steps are straighter and deeper.  More significantly as I see it, the whole area of the steps on the Reverse of '38 has a relatively "flat" appearance, while on the Reverse of '40 that area has a more "rounded" appearance. (On the Reverse of '38 the triangular edges of the area supported by the pillars are a little sharper than on the Reverse of '40, but I consider this a minor difference that may be difficult to discern.)

   If the grading services recognize these varieties, they should make sure that their graders are properly trained to recognize them!  Given the cost of third-party certification, I find the frequency of errors like this troubling.

That is the way I saw it too. Usually the top line on the rev of 38 ramps up toward the 1st pillar. I started to question myself after looking at it too much. I’m curious to know how much time is actually spent on the steps in the grading room. Thanks for looking. I appreciate it.

On 11/13/2022 at 3:27 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

@Lem E:

I got a big kick out of your line, "but only graded as a 66."  Well, exc-u-u-u-se me! And, to show you how clueless I can sometimes get, I saw your references to "40 steps" and "39 steps," and thought, even Low Library at Columbia U. and the U.S.S.Ct. in Washington, D.C. don't have that many steps, and I know he's not talking about that Hitchcock movie, "The 39 Steps."    (Sorry 'bout that errant tomahawk gash on the first column.) All things considered, a very fine coin with a very respectable, stellar grade!

 Not trying to be that way. I actually think my 66 is a nicer coin than this 67. 

I received this 39P REV of 38 yesterday. These coins are not the easiest to find and it makes it even tougher when they are misattributed.  This is my 3rd attempt at this coin. The first one I bought was a reverse of 40. The second one was correct as a REV of 38 but only graded as a 66. The 3rd coin turns out to be what I am pretty certain is a bad set of 40 steps. Finding the right coin is starting to become a headache. Doesn’t look like 38 steps to me but I could be wrong. What do you think? **EDIT** I went ahead and posted this in the newbie forum as well. Not sure how much traffic I would get buried here at the end of this thread.

1. Texas

2. Columbian

3. Illinois (1918)

On 11/8/2022 at 9:10 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

Yes, diameter. Wow!  I expected you to say, "Yeah, of course, they're all the same. They're 5-cent/half-dime pieces." Certainly, the Shield and V-nickels ought to have been the same. Just now, prompted by your reply, I searched for the date vending machines were introduced in the U.S.  The answer:  1888 in those small narrow gum machines first installed on elevated stations (which pre-dated the NYC subway system which dates to 1904.  It appears both the V-nickel and Jefferson nickel (excluding the wartime years, why I do not know) share a common diameter: 21.2 mm. Thanks.

I was a little surprised in seeing the shield and V nickel being a different diameter myself. I just figured they would be the same. I’ll have to put them side by side and see when I get home. 

On 11/8/2022 at 10:57 AM, pigeonman333rd said:

Is this a legitimate coin or is it a counterfeit? It comes from a coin dealer but I have my doubts about this one and I would like some help.

Without having my books to properly dive into this, it looks like this could be the N-14 variety from the placement of the date. Weather or not it is a counterfeit, I am not sure. I don’t see anything that screams out at me but, I am not fully familiar with the fine details of these coins. 

On 11/8/2022 at 6:12 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

Is there a standard width size for these coins, and if so, what is it and what year does it date back to?

I don’t know if by width you mean diameter but here are the specs.

Shield - 20.5 mm

half dime - 15.9 mm

V nickel - 21.2 mm

Very nice looking group of coins. I might have to try and hit that show one of these days. I’m about 2 hrs away from St. Charles myself. Glad the tire situation wasn’t too bad for you.

To me it does look like a hazy proof coin. I say that because of the smoothness of the fields, the lack of bag marks and hits and the overall clean strike. It also looks to have a hint of prooflike mirror down around UNITED STATES on the reverse. I’m not trying to argue where you got it from or anything like that. These pictures are all I have to go by. It just simply has the look of a proof. If it is a MS coin, it is one of the cleanest examples I have ever seen. I’m not sure how much care was taken with the mint set coins back then. Just comparing your coin to MS and proof examples from other truviews, I would put this with the proofs.