EagleRJO

Then there is no way it's a 69. They must have mixed up not only the number but the grade too. If you can exchange the coin for one that doesn't have a prominent face scratch and is a true MS69 I would just do that and forget the mix up.

I was initially thinking the same thing with that mark! Is it a scratch on the case or a scratch on the coin? Perhaps 156 is your coin at a lower grade than MS69.

You may be confusing overstrikes and counterstamps. Those would be "overstrikes", where an old coin is placed in a coining press at a mint and struck with new dies producing a different coin. This is discussed at Numista for some of the 1812 Canadian Half Penny Trade and Navigation Tokens as you referenced (following link and attached photo). https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3194.html The marks you are referencing, as highlighted on the attached pic, are "counterstamps". These are impressions added to a coin after it leaves the mint. Counterstamps are almost always considered damage by the TPGs, with few exceptions such as chop marks on Trade Dollars.

I'm glad you got the MS63, even though you thought it might grade higher, given the concerns it may be a AU slider. Was it worth submitting with the MS63 it came back as? Also, I'm assuming you didn't submit it for the doubling attribution with the extra fee based on the feedback you received here that it looked like shelf doubling.

Maybe @ChezITalia can check out the coin to determine if the marks are just on the surface like a stain, or if they are incuse marks (or cut into the coin) indicative of scratches.

For a valid strike-through you have to be able to identify what it was that ended up on the dies. I cant imagine anything on the dies from the mint that would produce that appearance, not even cloth which was my first thought. Instead of a strike-through, it really appears like something scraped up against the lower part of the coin. So it likely is just post mint damage.

Very nice find. As JPM suggested it might be a good one for a coin album. I like the Littleton coin albums, like the attached one for 1938-1975 Jefferson nickels, since they are very well made and have spines with the album name so you can see what they are on a bookcase.

For an XF grade 1910-S DE it should be worth right around gold spot at $2,002 today.

Thats the way I like all of my coins, including the gold ones. It's a common gold bullion coin. Just put the coin in your own easy-open holder like the attached. You can also do a basic check by accurately measuring dimensions, as well as the weight to check approximate density or specific gravity.

Those would be 9.5 and 9.6. There is more of a direct crossover with MS coins. For others see the topic I linked above. I asked because you indicated you were really a card and comic collector, and one of the reported reasons for the 10 point NGCX scale is to draw in new coin collectors from other hobbies like stamp, coin and comic collecting that presently have a 10 point grading scale. Apparently, there is some resistance of other hobbyist to cross over to also collecting coins when they encounter the 70-point Sheldon coin grading scale, which some argue is awkward and illogical. It is a pretty controversial topic.

Minor chips, cuds, rotated dies, doubling, etc. are commonly encountered on coins due to dies that deteriorate or move slightly as part of the normal coin production process, and therefore are not errors or something worth an appreciable amount. Also, if it's something that can not be seen just looking at a coin it is likely not worth very much at all. Collectors seek errors that can be readily identified without the use of magnification, which is only used (10x max) for finer details of that identifiable error. So using your scope to find a tiny die chip at the "V" in VDB of a penny is really pointless. There is no way those are consistent sold coin results, the occasional sucker aside. Depending on the size maybe a few bucks at most, and those must be asking prices on like eBay. The attached is a listing pic for three normal dollar coins worth $3 with a $7,000 asking price! Slip in the word "gold" in the description, say for color or "appearance", as well as lighting that even gives the SBA's a gold like tint and bingo ... sucker nirvana! To get some meaningful numbers on say eBay click on the "Advanced" search hyperlink, to the right of the regular search bar, then check the "Sold Items" box and enter the search. That will give you actual sold coins, which you then throw out the highest and lowest results as anomalies.

Because there was no mint mark present as Sandon explained.

It may be that there are more old school collectors in the coin community than in the comics or sports card community. I am one of the old school coin collectors who believes that coins should be collected and stored raw, with just a protective holder that can be easily opened to hold the coins in your hands when desired. Not the collection of coins in sealed plastic coin coffins, with paper tags that has one persons opinion slapped on it, never to be held in the collectors hand ever again. I collect coins, not paper tags and plastic holders. The only exception to this are coins obtained directly from the mint, which come in plastic capsules which I leave alone with the original packaging. On the flip side I do not sell a lot of coins, where to make sales more rapidly it would be desirable to have graded coins. But I often do business with companies and eBay sellers that regularly sell raw coins and may have quite an extensive inventory of raw coins. I typically do not see that type of spread for bullion coins, where sending it to a TPG for grading will end up with a loss overall due to the cost of grading. Completely off topic, as a card and comic collector I am curious what your thoughts are on a move by NGC towards a 10 point grading scale starting with modern coins, in lieu of the present Sheldon 70 point grading scale, discussed here ...

It's from the Philly mint since there is no mint mark. Also, about the grade, there are a lot of smaller bag marks or "chatter" on both sides of the coin, particularly on and around the cheek and face area which is a real negative for uncirculated Morgans. With a BU adjectival grade meaning it is 60 to 62, and TPG's typically not issuing 60 grades, I would grade the coin MS61 Accordingly, I would value the coin at around $85. However, if you went to sell the coin a dealer would likely offer considerably less to have a profit margin. https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/united-states/dollars/morgan-dollars-1878-1921/17167/1886-1-ms/?des=ms-pl

I assume those coins are in the mint capsules. Why take a risk of contamination by removing them from the mint capsules? Also, you will likely lose money submitting them with the value under about $300.

Welcome to the forum! That coin is graded, but it just has an adjectival grade of BU or Brilliant Uncirculated. See the attached table and the following link for adjectival grades ... https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-grading/grading-scale/adjectival-grades/ A coin graded BU means it would be MS60 to MS62 (see the notes at the bottom on the linked page and attached table). Then there is Choice Uncirculated (MS63 to MS64), and Gem Uncirculated (MS65 to M70). Note that you have to kind of read between the lines to get those numerical grades, but those are the accepted values. Adjectival grades are sometimes used with a bulk submission to save a few dollars per coin as it only requires the TPG to give a range instead of a specific numerical value, typically for lower grades like BU. About the value look at the following table from NGC and it will be between MS60 to MS62 depending on the mint mark which I can't really read through the cellophane bag, but might be a small CC mark. https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/united-states/dollars/49/

I collect some German coins, and if I am looking for information on them I usually check out the Numista.com (https://en.numista.com/catalogue) and uCoin,net (https://en.ucoin.net/catalog) sites to see if they have the info I am looking for.

The coin is a 1851 Type-1 Silver Small Star 3 Cent FS-302 RPD variety that is probably an XF to low AU grade as suggested, but more like XF to me with the apparent minor wear and comparing it to that grade from PCG$ CoinFacts FX grade attached. The crud or dirt on the coin obscures some of the detail, such as shield lines and star on the obverse, but they are there perhaps with some slight wear. Also, NGC values these coins as follows, which I have been finding are more consistent with recent bid results due to unreasonably inflated PCG$ prices. https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/united-states/three-cents/20/ So it would be in the $100 to $150 range, not considering the RPD (which probably wouldn't add much) or considering that it looks like it was cleaned, which could knock off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the value. It looks like there is dark crud remaining around and within some of the lettering and devices that they couldn't get to when it was cleaned. NGC guide prices appear to be consistent with bid results at Great Collections (linked below), so likely $65 to $75 XF Details - Cleaned for the op's coin, including the reduction for being cleaned. Great Collections Auction Archives 1851 3C Silver Coin

Concerning posting other coins, cropping the photos as Sandon noted is very helpful to those trying to assist, as it gives a better view of the coins. That will result in getting better information or answers to questions. See the attached for examples, which I put side by side just for convenience. Its also helpful to post additional coins in a new topic for each coin so comments don't get confusing as to which coin is being discussed. I agree that the 1948 Cent is just damaged, with some of that apparently caused by a type of metallic holder, and the 1973 Cent has a minor error referred to as a CUD near Lincoln's head. You can find more information about CUDs here ... https://www.error-ref.com/cuds/ Consider that there are almost daily posts about coins that are just damaged by people watching click bait YT vids about there being valuable errors in pocket change. They then check any coins they have around and see something unusual, and think they hit pay dirt, when the reality is that it's almost always just post-mint damage. True mint errors, like CUDs, can be found occasionally, but valuable mint errors are extremely rare.

Learn about a series and counterfeit detection before you start buying raw coins. @GoldFinger1969 I also have not had any issues with coins I have purchased, and I buy a lot of raw coins including almost a complete proof and silver ASE collection, almost the entire Morgan series (all years and marks), and starting a one-a-year half dollar set, other than having to return a few coins with questionable grades or diagnostics. But I spend time looking into a series and quite a lot of time checking coins, grades, and the diagnostics (die markers, VAMs, possible counterfeits, etc.) carefully before I buy them, or as soon as I get them. However, I have really only been buying more expensive coins (say more than about $200) for about a year, but other coins for quite a while.

Give the coin a dirt bath then put it down for a dirt nap ...

Both, plus demand as Coinbuf explained very well. And how nice a coin looks factors into grade. So value is a function of rarity, grade, and demand.

The mint spec weight is [2.27g] for that 1983 (P) dime so it may be missing a clad layer depending on its weight, due to environmental damage from the appearance of the coin. It could also just be discolored with some weight loss from environmental damage. It does not look like a missing clad layer planchet error, similar to the attached.

It is still significantly worn, whereas it is likely that for not much more a collector could acquire one that is just slightly worn. Which would you choose? And they are popular with collectors because coins in relatively good shape for most of the series are still readily available at a low cost, with maybe just about two dozen or so in the series that are higher priced. And I would describe the very dark discoloration on your coin as severe tarnish, not dirt that can be more readily cleaned with acetone or conserved by a TPG.

The rim as well as the eagle's head, breast and wings (particularly the upper part of the wings) are high points of the design on the reverse. That is what you look at first when evaluating the grade for the reverse of that coin. For a considerably worn Morgan it would not be surprising that you could barely see the wings. Attached is an example of a Morgan graded G-4 with the kind of wear to the eagle on the reverse outlined above. Note how the lettering and other elements are not significantly worn like the upper wings and head, as the rim and noted high points prevent that.