Help should I get graded 1 1

[$hawn]

I have a 1964 D penny with what I think is a mint error but ain't sure . Please look at it and let me know if I should consider getting it graded. To see what I can get for it. I think the  "L" in liberty is in the stamp line. I ain't sure if I am even correct on the error. If anyone sees anything please feel free to point it out. I am very new at this.

[VKurtB]

Nope, absolutely NOT. 

[EagleRJO]

The "L" was normally very close to and sometimes touched the rim for that coin, with other examples in various grades here ... https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1964-d-1c-rd/2893

[Mike Meenderink]

There are numerous books available as well as other information on line that can teach you the basics of coin collecting. It would be to your advantage to read some books on basic coin collecting before you waste time looking for things you know nothing about. During the process of reading you will learn about error coins, variety coins, damaged coins, cleaned coins etc etc...some basic knowledge is needed to participate in this type of collecting or any collecting just to ensure you do not get hoodwinked or mis lead by someone with ill intent. Many new collectors loose a large amount of money buying junk and fake error coins.

[JKK]

No, you should not. It would be about as sensible as paying $60 for a Big Mac.

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum and to the hobby!

The cent you presented here is very well worn and slightly damaged. It is worth face value. The L of LIBERTY was normally close to the edge of the coin and in the case of your coin the rim wearing flat gives it the appearance of being in the rim itself.

In this instance I agree with Mike. You should avail yourself of some books and do some reading, especially before looking for errors. I am not sure what is fueling it, but there seems to be an uptick in the last year of new people getting interested in coins and immediately thinking they have found an error coin. I recommend getting yourself a copy of the Redbook of US Coins, as well as a book titled ANA Grading Standards for US Coins, 7th edition. The 6th edition can still be found relatively cheap on eBay (around $12) and still contains a ton of information to get someone new to the hobby off to a good start. Some other advice, unless an online video is made by either ANA, ANACS, NGC, PCGS, or the US Treasury or US Mint, please avoid all other videos. They are loaded with misinformation, especially YouTube videos by independent no name people who themselves do not know what they are doing.

Also, as you are starting out, please do not use high mag to look at coins. A 10X magnifier or 10X loupe is well more than sufficient to examine coins. Most people who use high mag to examine their coins go down a rabbit hole of "seeing" all kind of things on the surface that they believe to be errors which are not. You do not want to go down that rabbit hole.

[Sandon]

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    As others have stated, your well-worn (Very Fine or so condition) and very common (nearly 3.8 billion minted) 1964-D Lincoln cent has no collector value and certainly isn't worth the substantial cost ($23 NGC "Economy tier" grading fee alone, plus membership fees, processing fees, shipping, and insurance) of submitting it to a third-party grading service such as NGC, which is what I assume you mean by "getting it graded." It does not exhibit any mint error. The rim has been flattened by wear, and the master obverse die for Lincoln cents had been in use since 1919 and wasn't replaced until 1969, with the result that by the mid-1960s the whole design, including the lettering, had spread out toward the rim.

   Large numbers of rolls and bags of uncirculated coins of this era were saved, with the result that you can buy an attractive uncirculated 1964-D cent today from anywhere from under a dollar to a few dollars, depending on the quality of its surfaces and the amount of original mint color it retains. Coin World lists retail values for uncertified 1964-D cents at $0.30 in MS 63 RB (red and brown) and $5 in MS 65 RD (full original "red" color). The NGC Price Guide lists certified pieces in MS 65 RD at $15, less than the $23 grading fee alone, so only pieces that the submitter has the knowledge and experience to believe are likely to get extremely high grades (such as MS 67 RD) would be worth the cost of submission. See Lincoln Cents, Memorial Reverse (1959-2008) | Price Guide & Values | NGC (ngccoin.com). 

   As a new collector, you need to learn how to identify, grade and value coins before you even think about submitting pieces to third-party grading services.  In addition to attending such venues as coin shows and coin club meetings where you can examine a variety of coins and speak with experienced collectors and dealers, you need to read legitimate numismatic publications (print and online) such as those identified in the following forum topics:

   

 

[Henri Charriere]

On reflection, this is a curious query.  You single out the L in LIBERTY for melding with the rim seemingly oblivious to the fact that, and more, had occurred with every letter bar none in the motto, IN GOD WE TRUST.

If this were a brand-new coin, your suspicion would have substance.  But with the passage of upwards of 60 years, any number of things can happen to a coin and very often ordinary wear and tear complicates a clear diagnosis.

[VKurtB]

On 12/31/2023 at 1:05 AM, JKK said:

No, you should not. It would be about as sensible as paying $60 for a Big Mac.

Wait, isn’t “$” also the sign used for the Mexican peso?

[JKK]

On 12/31/2023 at 10:38 AM, VKurtB said:

Wait, isn’t “$” also the sign used for the Mexican peso?

Yes. Very well. US$60, then.

[VKurtB]

On 12/31/2023 at 12:40 PM, JKK said:

Yes. Very well. US$60, then.

€ nice fella. Maybe we could £ back a pint or two someday.

[powermad5000]

On 12/31/2023 at 12:38 PM, VKurtB said:

Wait, isn’t “$” also the sign used for the Mexican peso?

Are you saying the OP's username is Peso hawn then?  

[VKurtB]

On 12/31/2023 at 1:30 PM, powermad5000 said:

Are you saying the OP's username is Peso hawn then?  

If the foo sh**s, …

[VKurtB]

Here’s the problem with this thread’s title, and it has been repeated literally HUNDREDS of times here. People ask if they should “get this coin graded”. They don’t even mean that. They want to know “should I get this coin authenticated as an error or variety”. The answer is almost ALWAYS going to be “NO!!!!”, because the coins virtually never are an error or variety. This is but the latest example. 

[JKK]

On 12/31/2023 at 11:49 AM, VKurtB said:

Here’s the problem with this thread’s title, and it has been repeated literally HUNDREDS of times here. People ask if they should “get this coin graded”. They don’t even mean that. They want to know “should I get this coin authenticated as an error or variety”. The answer is almost ALWAYS going to be “NO!!!!”, because the coins virtually never are an error or variety. This is but the latest example. 

Then you have the power to say "no" each time.

[Halbrook Family]

On 12/30/2023 at 11:05 PM, JKK said:

No, you should not. It would be about as sensible as paying $60 for a Big Mac.

That probably isn't far off in california with the new min wage for fast food workers. 

[Halbrook Family]

Just wondering ... if someone sent a coin like this in to get graded what do you think it would say on the slab? Would they even put it in a slab? How low of a grade can they give a coin? What are the lowest grades anyone has seen? People must send in stuff that is a bad joke to grade. That one guy comes on here all the time with his nonsensical "errors" or "varieties" I won't mention his name but I'm sure you know who. 

[Greenstang]

Quote

How low of a grade can they give a coin?

They can give a grade as low as PO1, the lowest grade possible.   
This is known as a “ lowball”.

[VKurtB]

On 12/31/2023 at 2:37 PM, edhalbrook said:

Just wondering ... if someone sent a coin like this in to get graded what do you think it would say on the slab? Would they even put it in a slab? How low of a grade can they give a coin? What are the lowest grades anyone has seen? People must send in stuff that is a bad joke to grade. That one guy comes on here all the time with his nonsensical "errors" or "varieties" I won't mention his name but I'm sure you know who. 

Hopefully, it would come back in a “body bag”.

[powermad5000]

On 12/31/2023 at 2:37 PM, edhalbrook said:

Just wondering ... if someone sent a coin like this in to get graded what do you think it would say on the slab? Would they even put it in a slab? How low of a grade can they give a coin? What are the lowest grades anyone has seen? People must send in stuff that is a bad joke to grade.

Depends on the coin. This coin would get graded and slabbed. Probably VG details for rim damage. Poor 1 is the lowest grade assigned. I'll show you my example but with a coin having as low a mintage number as this there are not many examples to choose from. Over 50% of these graded by NGC are VF or lower. I am unsure of its survivability number. I am happy just to have one of them.

Edited December 31, 2023 by powermad5000

[VKurtB]

Let it be known to ALL that I will virtually EVERY TIME be answering questions such as those at the top of this thread with, “OH HECK NO! What? Are you daft?”

[powermad5000]

On 12/31/2023 at 3:20 PM, VKurtB said:

Let it be known to ALL that I will virtually EVERY TIME be answering questions such as those at the top of this thread with, “OH HECK NO! What? Are you daft?”

That will be mostly resounded by every one of the usual contributors in this forum minus the daft part.

Edited December 31, 2023 by powermad5000

[VKurtB]

On 12/31/2023 at 3:21 PM, powermad5000 said:

That will be mostly resounded by every one of the usual contributors in this forum minus the daft part.

I don’t understand this manic desire to have almost any darned thing put in plastic. It’s literally crazy. 

[powermad5000]

In this case, the OP believes the coin to be some kind of mint error and worth a premium. It is incorrect self grading that drives those to believe a coin to have some kind of premium which it does not. Those entering the hobby have not done enough to educate themselves right off the bat and if they did, most of these kinds of posts would not even appear. There would be no question if the self grading done correctly were to lead to the determination that the presented coin is not worth putting in plastic.

[EagleRJO]

On 12/31/2023 at 3:54 PM, Greenstang said:

They can give a grade as low as PO1

I thought "POS" was the lowest grade which doesn't even register on a TPG scale. 

[Sandon]

   

On 12/31/2023 at 4:20 PM, VKurtB said:

Let it be known to ALL that I will virtually EVERY TIME be answering questions such as those at the top of this thread with, “OH HECK NO! What? Are you daft?”

   Those who ask these questions are generally new collectors or those who found a coin that they consider old or odd looking, which to them means it could be rare and valuable.  (By that standard, I should be valuable as well!)  Most of whatever "information" they have comes from random searches of the internet, and they tend to see the sensational, less reputable or downright dishonest sources. That's why I take so much time to explain to them why their coins aren't valuable, why they have to learn to grade and otherwise evaluate coins themselves before considering the submission of coins to grading services, and from what sources they should learn.  Their ignorance won't be eliminated by such "curt" answers (pun intended). I hope that at least a few of them will become serious, knowledgeable collectors.

   Where I may become sarcastic myself is where a poster claims to have found some extreme rarity in circulation and just wants to know how to submit it, such as the person who a couple of days ago claimed to have "found two 1982D mint mark small date copper pennies in one day" without even posting photos or weighing the coins.  I simply replied that this was as likely as finding two 100 troy ounce gold bars on one's porch.

[Coinbuf]

@$hawnAs you should have figured out by now your coin is just damaged; value one cent.

[VKurtB]

On 12/31/2023 at 4:24 PM, Sandon said:

   

   Those who ask these questions are generally new collectors or those who found a coin that they consider old or odd looking, which to them means it could be rare and valuable.  (By that standard, I should be valuable as well!)  Most of whatever "information" they have comes from random searches of the internet, and they tend to see the sensational, less reputable or downright dishonest sources. That's why I take so much time to explain to them why their coins aren't valuable, why they have to learn to grade and otherwise evaluate coins themselves before considering the submission of coins to grading services, and from what sources they should learn.  Their ignorance won't be eliminated by such "curt" answers (pun intended). I hope that at least a few of them will become serious, knowledgeable collectors.

   Where I may become sarcastic myself is where a poster claims to have found some extreme rarity in circulation and just wants to know how to submit it, such as the person who a couple of days ago claimed to have "found two 1982D mint mark small date copper pennies in one day" without even posting photos or weighing the coins.  I simply replied that this was as likely as finding two 100 troy ounce gold bars on one's porch.

Well then, you are to be congratulated for your extreme courtesy in the presence of abject ignorance. Whether it was at birth, or at the instance of my cerebral hemorrhage of June 2009, my brain does not have that feature. I kind of think it never has, but I could be wrong. 

[JKK]

On 12/31/2023 at 3:20 PM, VKurtB said:

Well then, you are to be congratulated for your extreme courtesy in the presence of abject ignorance. Whether it was at birth, or at the instance of my cerebral hemorrhage of June 2009, my brain does not have that feature. I kind of think it never has, but I could be wrong. 

I think it's simply that you are incapable of seeing this hobby at least, and perhaps other things, from any perspective except your own. When there is only one valid and rational perspective, and therefore all others are invalid and irrational, why bother to be considerate? It would be very liberating to just say whatever one wants without giving two rips how anyone feels (and you have stated how pleased you are that you act in such a way, so I am only echoing what you have said about it before). There are terms for that, and you have the vocabulary to know them.

[VKurtB]

On 12/31/2023 at 5:27 PM, JKK said:

It would be very liberating to just say whatever one wants without giving two rips how anyone feels

Now I know when I started thinking about things this way - when I got overwhelming evidence that my public school instructors were m-o-r-o-n-s. I was twelve, and it was 1967. Thanks for the memory jog. BTW, I CAN see things from others’ perspective. I merely choose not to.

Well over a year ago, oft quoted by QA/HC, I’d rather be right than nice. It still applies. 
 

NONE of the participants on this board are potential customers, no one at all. My incentive to osculate gluteals is minuscule. If the newbs are someone you imagine as tomorrow’s customer, I take your quest as quixotic. They want everything free.

Edited December 31, 2023 by VKurtB