Mercury Dime 1927 Grading Help 1 1

[EGH49]

 This is my second Merc post.  

I know this was circulated and has some dings and surface marks (toning?) but to my inexperienced eye I think the details are very good.   Would this kind of surface detract from the grade?   Would AU 58  FB seem right?

Thanks again!

[J P M]

I don't think you would get the FB on this one

[Sandon]

  Somewhere in the AU range would be right for this 1927 "Mercury" dime but not necessarily AU 58. The coin doesn't appear to deserve a "full bands" designation, as the bands are not fully separated at the center. 

[powermad5000]

If this Mercury dime is problem free, i.e. no previous cleanings and the toning is not hiding any scratches that can't be seen in the photos, I would think this would grade as AU 55 but would not get the FB designation. I see on the middle and bottom bands what looks to be the slightest merging of the bands at the center. Better photos of the bands would have to be presented to sway me from that opinion on the bands.

Would this kind of surface detract from the grade? Problem surfaces detract from the grade, i.e. previous cleanings, scratches, circulation dings, etc. Toning in and of itself is a surface condition but not a detractor of grade unless the toning has literally taken over and built up on the surface of the coin. There are many of these Mercury dimes with a bluish or yellowish toning that are very high graded. It is when the toning turns black and actually has a level of "thickness" that toning would affect the grade as it could be considered environmental damage. On this coin you can see some black toning, however, it is not "thick" and you can also see much of the original surface and original luster still remaining.

[EGH49]

Thanks, all!  

With magnification this, to me, is not a really eye appealing coin but I do like the details.  Sounds like a bad joke but she does look better from a distance 

I can't argue about the FB because I argued with myself repeatedly.  With a loop rather than a soft photo the separation seems slightly more defined but probably not enough. 

[powermad5000]

On 9/26/2024 at 10:31 AM, EGH49 said:

Sounds like a bad joke but she does look better from a distance 

Or the one I used since I was young, She looks good from far but she is far from good.