Finally Got A Nice 4th Type Seated Liberty Dime For My Type Set

Both are most attractive, congrats!

Well those are certainly great looking coins.

It makes them all the more special to me. I know that for 75 years, these coins have not been peddled from place to place and that they are completely original. I might dip a Mercury dime ... but these will remain as they are. I'm placing them in holders, but I'm keeping the envelopes they were stored in as well,

I got a great set of mercs from the same guy. You'll recall the set that had the 21-P and all those FB coins in it, Those were from his father's collection.

Chance

I've had further conversation regarding these envelopes with the seller. The paper envelopes are as his grandfather stored them and he added the cellophane envelopes, having gotten them from a flea market.

The startling revelation is that the prices aren't in dollars, they're in cents. He paid 20 cents for the 1877 and 15 cents for the 1862. Coins he paid north of a dollar for, have a decimal point.

That was in the days before the hype over the 42/1 Mercury dime created the first real influx of new coin collectors. Another wave would occur with the 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent.

No way the 1877 was in that paper envelope for 75 years and it is as light as it shows on the first image. It would be much, much darker and probably have more color. Don't get me wrong the 1877 is an awesome coin...I'm just questioning the grandson's story.

Plus please don't dip the Mercs. The Coin World needs more originally toned Mercs and less bright white ones.

The first image is taken with the light angled to accentuate the mirrored field. Its not that bright straight on. I've no problem with either of these coins being in those envelopes for that long.

There's no shortage of toned Mercury dimes. I only dip those that are worthy, and for my own collection. I don't care for toning. Its the first step on the road to destruction and is far more detrimental to the coin's longevity than one that's had unattractive toning properly removed.

Here;s a pic I just took of the 1877 without lighting up the mirrors.

Chance

I know that my position on this subject flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but I've actually learned a lot from my conservation efforts. Toning will reoccur ... in exactly the same manner if its allowed to return (usually by poor storage...chemical laden holders, albums etc) In order to arrest it, you have to get it out of harms way. That's why I settled on the staple type holders with the mylar liner. It forms a barrier between the coin and the cardboard used to make the holder.

Once toning is allowed to go completely black, the surfaces of the coin are damaged forever. They become etched as badly as if they'd suffered PVC damage from long time storage in the old soft flips.

If the original luster has been abraded or otherwise compromised by polishing or simple circulation, its no longer a candidate for conservation. There's no path back from "wear". Once the skin's gone, its gone. You just end up with a coin that looks much worse than it would left in its natural state. You have to make sure that the chemicals are neutralized when you're done, or it ends up toning unnaturally, and quickly. Failure to allow the coins to dry thoroughly prior to placing them in holders is also detrimental.

I'm not trying to change anybody's mind on the subject, but mean only to explain that I have a pretty thorough understanding of it, and its not something that I recommend that somebody with no experience dive into with any coin that is of value. There are tons of Roosevelt dimes in Whitman folders to practice on. There's no particular interest in those. They're worth melt, and likely always will be...during our lifetimes or those of or kids anyway.

I will add one more thing ... Unless you want a worthless coin, don't mess with copper coins.... period. That includes nickels since they're 75 percent copper. I have zero successes to share in that end of the field.

Chance