EagleRJO

You will lose a lot of money very quickly sending in every coin you think is cool and "needs to be seen" whatever that means, particularly if the value is less than several hundred dollars. I would get a copy of the attached book to help with values, and the references recommended in the thread by Sandon are also really needed to identify errors and varieties. Actually if it needs to be seen, the best thing is to keep it as a raw coin and put it in an easy open capsule or after market plastic coin coffin so you can pop that open when it "needs to be seen". I really don't get the obsession with finding coins that you can "send in". The 1944 to 1982 Lincoln cents are 95% copper which is a very soft metal, and you mentioned in another thread that you have actually seen pieces of these coins knocked lose and displaced, which could be several L's with the lower leg knocked loose to look like an "I". Playing the "what if" game and "guessing" is not the proper method of identifying errors and varieties, and doesn't get you anywhere except spinning around in circles throwing darts at a bullseye blindfolded, while you waste more money submitting low grade coins with PMD that are "interesting", or where you refuse to follow good advice provided. Furthermore, you have been unwilling to simply look at the edges of coins to determine if they might be incuse extra stars, or provide information the mint conveyed to you about the coins posted even though you make references to that several times. So I am also not going to responding further until you can at least provide this basic information.

That looks like post mint contact damage. A while ago I started collecting modern dollar coins, and initially I was roll hunting circulated coins. But I would routinely find edge contact damage like nicks, dings and gouges similar to what is on the op's coin. Maybe not to the extent that coin is damaged, but similar in nature and I can see how a coin could occasionally end up like that. The extent of the edge contact damage was so pervasive that I often was unable to readily read the year and mint mark, which was a death knell roll hunting those coins, particularly with an obscured mark. So I switched to buying coins in a BU or PR grade from dealers or from the mint when available (like the attached). By the way, for the 2016 PR set maybe it's just me but I think Nixon looks a little zombie like, with an eerie fog around him.

As Coinbuf indicated larger online bullion & coin dealers use stock photos for the listings. So You need to carefully check out the coin in-hand, which should be done anyway. I periodically buy gold bullion coins from a large online dealer and have found you can't beat the prices with a stick. Stick to bullion bars if you are just looking for a straight investment, and some of them actually look pretty nice - just not as nice as coins. I buy gold bullion coins occasionally knowing it will be more difficult even to get back the initial investment due to the much larger spread for coins vs. bars, simply because I like the way bullion coins look better than bars.

I came across the attached 1863 NY Civil War Token Staudinger's Union Shield that I thought was interesting, but I am striking out finding additional info on the coin on sites like http://tokencatalog.com/index.php The listing does say its a "Civil War Token Fuld NY630BS-2a R1. Any help with additional info on the token would be greatly appreciated.

Bada-Bing Bada Boom! How long were you waiting to slip that one in?

There is a way to report outrageously priced items on eBay. On the right side and just above the Item Description click on "Report an Item". That sometimes removes the Listing temporarily, and it's back up at a later time with like a different price, and other times I don't see it anymore. That is a very insidious rip off on eBay and Etsy where they list coins for sale as having doubled dies when in fact it's machine doubling. I post the attached whenever this comes up so hopefully less people fall for that scam.

It looks like VG to me too considering both sides. Also, you can't use asking prices on eBay as an accurate gauge of value. There are people asking $10,000 for a Presidential dollar coin worth ... drum roll ... $1.00. You need to look at sold listings or the NGC Price Guide for an approximate value ... https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/united-states/cents/99/

A lot more than that for a single coin: Shipping to NGC insured: $15 (Roughly) Handling Fee: $10 Grading - Modern: $19 Return Shipping: $23 Total Cost: $67 If you have more than one coin the S&H (which is a big chunk of the cost) can be spread out over several coins to significantly reduce the costs. Like if you had 4 coins it would be about what you quoted at $30 per coin.

How about this: in my opinion you need a new scale with at least 0.01g accuracy; in my opinion the misaligned die is of no consequence as it's within mint tolerances; and, in my opinion it's likely you have a Zinc 1983 cent due to the improbability it is copper.

I use the Duck also, along with MS Edge. No Google anything. I have trouble photographing MS coins that are very "frosty". The frosty areas just come out dark.

If you are going to return the coin some of the larger dealers require you to notify them you want to return/exchange the coin no-questions-asked within 7 days of receiving a coin, and keep the original packaging. eBay and many of the larger online dealers also have a 30 day return if you don't receive what you ordered. That can include that the coin ordered doesn't at least match the quality of the photos in the listing.

I might see a dog with a dog's tail projecting down onto Lincoln's jaw. Looking at the plating bubbles on the side of his face is kind of like looking at a cloud and describing a shape. Some will see it and some won't. Plus I would post full pics of the obverse and reverse, and you can describe things you see instead of marking over something.

First, my condolences on your uncle's passing, and welcome to the forum. I agree that if you are the executor it greatly complicates things and you will need to engage the services of multiple professionals starting with an attorney before even diving into the collection. If you just outright inherited the coin collection it greatly simplifies things, and it sounds like you are very excited about the collection ... I WOULD BE! The rest of my post assumes you outright inherited the collection. First things first. It sounds like it would be very tempting for you to just jump in feet first, but take a step back and do a little preliminary work first. I assume you are not already a collector, and if you plan to pick it up as a hobby see the following topic on "Resources": Also collectors tend to be pretty particular about what coins they own, what the condition or grade is, where they got them, etc. and many keep logs and folders full of info on the coins. Finding those would save you countless hours cataloging the collection if that wasn't already done, and can provide some interesting tidbits of info as you go through it. So it may be very worthwhile to first look for paperwork and logs your uncle may have kept before jumping into the coins, other than to start checking some of them out you find interesting. The executor would likely also have very useful information as it would have been valued before being disbursed. Again welcome and if you tell us a little about you and your plans for the collection that would be helpful. Also posting pics of some of the coins you find interesting or have questions about is always encouraged.

I completely agree, particularly with not finding coins that have much value roll/change hunting. 👍 It can be interesting with a healthy dose of reality when you think you hit one only to turn the coin and see it isn't', or to find things like say a spitting eagle which is cool but not valuable. There seems to be a lack of basics with some, like what exactly are errors and varieties, with a healthy dose of reality on probabilities.

@FrederickMorrisYou don't need to send the coin somewhere to check if the extra stars are raised (projects above the surface of the edge) or incuse (set in below the surface of the edge). Just hold the coin looking along the edge, with some magnification as needed which can be about 10x, like with a loupe or magnifying glass. Pretty simple to do yourself, and would help answer an important question about the coins.

That's my line! Or buy another one of those scales and throw them both out. I started out with a cheap 0.01g accuracy scale which needed frequent re-calibration of the scale and sometimes gave me weights that didn't make sense. So, I threw the cheap one out and spent a little more on a Smart Weight small laboratory/jewelry grade scale that was still under $40. It has a 3 decimal place or 0.001g accuracy, and came with multiple calibration weights to do a very precise sequential calibration. It also has a slightly depressed area where you place the coin that's larger than any standard coin, so there is no way for the coin to accidently slide off the scale. I have been using it for quite a while without any problems.

That was from a specific collection, but of course ppl will not pay attention to that. https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1272983/1958-Lincoln-Cent-Doubled-Die-Obverse-PCGS-MS-65-RD-CAC-Red-Copper-Collection Seems like a lot of newer collectors roll hunt for pennies, and I don't know why for the life of me they don't use a quick reference like the attached 11x17 sorting mat.

I think this coin with the apparent extra "N" or "M" is interesting. I think it might be an "N" as it would be misshapen if it was an "M". Is that, as well as the marks on either side, raised or incuse? The mark on the left of the N appears to be raised, but it's pretty hard to tell from just photos. Also, what is the mint saying about this coin?

For the prior coins you posted with the extra stars, those stars appear to be be raised, in which case it would just be PMD intentional or otherwise. I assume you have been able to confirm the extra stars are in fact raised. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The coin above (with comments about that from Hoghead) appears to have a not so well defined raised star that is offset and misaligned, and just above the star appears to be an incuse area. Perhaps that area was struck through something, and then the raised star was added. Or the incuse area could just be tool marks as suggested by Hoghead. In any event the star appears to be raised again, so that would also just be PMD intentional or otherwise. Since you have been in touch with the mint about these coins with raised extra stars, what has been the response from the mint?

I don't think the [raised] extra star on the op's coin came from a casual strike from another coin. It looks to me like it was done with another coin that had incuse stars and a hammer.

They probably bought whatever they could find raw that would match up on eBay, so that wouldn't surprise me as it does look pretty rough with loss of detail.

The extra star does look raised and not incuse to me also, as if someone placed the edge of one coin up against that one and struck the extra star. Maybe the op could look at the coin in-hand and let us know if it's a raised extra star.

Its not a counterfeit, at least not in the sense of indending to fool collectors, it's a "Magicians Coin", and I have seen these types of coins before when researching Trade Dollars. I agree with @Coinbufthat there is a visible seam on the obverse between the denticles and edge. You can see the seam all the way around the obverse, but it is most visible below the date. They mill out the obverse of a Seated Liberty Dollar up to the edge, and then grind off the reverse and edge of a Trade Dollar until it can be press fit into the remaining portion of the Seated Liberty Dollar. The following are links to an article about them and one magician/machinist making one of these coins ... https://www.numismaticnews.net/archive/the-mystery-behind-magicians-coins#:~:text=Many two-headed or 'magicians,separation hidden in the rim. The Making of a Magician's Coin Magicians will have 3 coins which are a Trade Dollar and a Seated Liberty Dollar along with the "magicians coin" and magically make one side of a coin appear on the other ... Alakazam! It's your money and call to submit it to a TPG, but they don't certify magician's coins and it will come back in a body bag.

Yup, that's a circulated 1944-S "Shell Case" cent with a book value of about $0.20 to $0.30 per CW. Interesting that the mint made cent coins from brass shell casing from 1944 to 1946. But it's not the more valuable date mark for that year which is an 1944-D/S variety that would have a book value of about $125 to $175 in XF condition. I guess now I'm on the op's blame list too.

I don't think it's EZV as they have a different style and know how to use spell check. The op has repeatedly received good and free advice, a few snide comments aside which I think you will get anywhere, but feels people recommending he get a better handle on what error coins are as well as some other basics like grading is somehow an attack on him. And PCGS will eat him up n’ spit him out. I hope he lets us know how that works out.