1903-O Barber dime 1 1

[IrisPhox]

Why do I keep getting "holy sh**" and crazy reactions for this dime and why am I told it's a 25$ dime what would ngc grade this at? I was told maybe 61 

Edited December 29, 2023 by IrisPhox
Additional question

[Mike Meenderink]

Hello and welcome to the forum. The coin you posted is a 1903 O Barber Dime. 8,180,000 of these coins were minted. The coin was minted at the New Orleans US Mint. It is made of 90% silver and 10% copper. It should weigh 2.50 g +/- .04g appx. The coin you have posted is not clearly photographed making an approximate photo grade impossible. However, the coin seems to have an impaired surface and dull greyish blue coloring that indicates the coin has been improperly cleaned. The details are not clear in the photo so assigning a photo grade would not be possible. IMO if this coin was to be sent for grading it would receive a DETAILS CLEANED grade. A nice coin for an album but not worth the expense of grading. IMO the coin has a market value between $35-$75 depending on actual grade of the coin. 

[Sandon]

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    If your question was directed to the NGC staff, please be advised that NGC does not give free grading opinions. 

    Insofar as I can tell from your photos, your 1903-O Barber dime has About Uncirculated or Uncirculated details but has an unnatural color and shine indicating that it has been improperly "cleaned" or polished. It also has a scrape on the reverse beneath the "DIM" of "DIME" that would also likely be considered as an impairment by a third-party grading service such as NGC. It would likely only receive a "details" adjectival grade mentioning that it has been "cleaned" or polished, has reverse damage, or both. The $25 valuation seems fair; it is perhaps worth a bit more.

   FYI, here are photos of a 1913 Barber dime that PCGS (another top tier grading service) graded MS 64. Note the frosty luster instead of the odd shine on your coin.

Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers.

 

[IrisPhox]

I tried taking better pics but was just asking for opinion on grade really. It's hard to get the Pic colors right plus I'm almost in dark but In personthe color in luster is different but that discoloring is almost blue charcoal. I have mdub 15 of these with different dates but this one looks more detail. Thank you by the way. 

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I am not sure why you are getting the responses of holy S to the pictured coin. In the photos which are not exactly cropped well, from what I can tell your coin has been cleaned and would get a grade of AU details. I can see light wear on the leaves and hair of the head on the obverse and light wear on the leaves and bow tops on the reverse. These are the typical spots on these dimes that wear first.

This dime has a mintage of 8,180,000 and is not considered a key date in the series. In AU it is worth between $100-150 but that value is for an unimpaired (and typically certified) example. This coin getting a Details grade for cleaning would severely limit its value and would only be worth what someone would be willing to pay for it in the condition it is in. Especially being uncertified, I would say $25 would be a reasonable offer for it. A dealer might not want to pay any more than $15-20 for it though.