Opinion Wanted: Raw 1916-D Mercury Dime

Not just nice-looking, but a collection of slabbed coins gives a great deal of confidence about quality and valuation.

If you could save $30, would you take a flight not checked by TSA?

Apples and oranges.

My life does not depend on whether or not my collection is slabbed.

A collection of slabbed coins will give some people a great deal of confidence, andits likely those people are not very aware of things like the following:

There are people getting taken all the time by these alleged 1982 No FG halves on ebay. They pay for what they think is the No FG variety just b/c a company said the initials were gone, despite their own eyes being able to tell them otherwise (if they even bother to look).

The experts certainly should know that in 1982 THE No FG die was not engraved with the initials at all. Examples where all three graders missed this fact so the company slabbed the coin as the No FG variety are not hard to find. Ghosted FGs are also frequently labeled as No FG for this and the other year known wgere the FG is not missing from a polishing - the 1972-D. All other Kennedy dates missing Fg are from polishing the dies, yet slabbed ones from the most trusted TOGs are not hard to find where the pics in the auctions show a ghosted FG.



Is it worth paying 30.00 to have a mislabeled half dollar? Not for me.

Add to this that the confidence is in the slabs and not the coin itself. If the coin is broken out of the slab, it cannot be guaranteed to have the same grade again! The confidence is actually in the labels and not the metal. And since the different sets of TPG experts won't even necessarily agree, I personally put higher value on the 30.00 being in my own pocket (to buy more coins!) than for that 30.00 to be paid for a debatable opinion (even among the trained graders!).

I also find another factor in confidence of the companies is how much money people have already invested in slabs before confronted with items such as the above.

I consider all fakes as a threat. Too many people do not educate themselves about them.

Just as I see the reality of things like the No Kennedy FG slab problem as a legitimate threat to people who don't take the time to buy the coin and not the slab. New people in the hobby need to see the reality that taking a label totally on faith can lose them money also.

As was said, the TPGs certainly should know better about the No FG varieties - they are paid to be the experts. And since the information is readily available online to us non-paid allegedly therefore non-able-to-be-expert collectors, most certainly my 30.00 will stay in my own pocket.




Even if nothing happens to the coin, it can receive a different grade.

Cracked coins resubmitted multiple times and getting a higher grade than before is a verifiable fact in the hobby's history. Also coins can be given lower grades when resubmitted. The process can continue with differing results. Ands this is especially so if crossed to another company.

This point is another thing newbies need to be educated on to get a better perspective of the reality of the TPG systems.



Again I would like to know what figures you use to base your statements on. Otherwise they are assumptions.

I try to base everything I post on something verifiable and try to include the sources/references. The No FG example I posted earlier explains ebay is a place to go to research the data to find the facts.

Until you start to give verifiable facts behind your statements, no one benefits from your beliefs b/c your statements logically can be seen as speculation, Post the sources and data for your statements so we can all see and understand how your position is not simply baseless opinion but actual fact. Facts to back up statements speak volumes.



You are absolutely correct that the TPGs will make it right to you if they accidentally slab a fake. I somehow misread what the person posting the statement had said and missed he was talking about just the guarantee on fakes. Thanks for pointing my error out to me.

I really would appreciate knowing sources for your statements (such as the aforementioned 99.9 percent) so I can make, what I am sure you would consider to be, better judgements of the specifics being discussed. Verifiable facts shared speak volumes and help everyone to make more informed decisions.

Raw or not, the coin in the original post looks very iffy to me, and I think the tpgs would agree. Do with that what you will.

The GSC coin is a counterfeit. The shape of the D is incorrect as the inside of the D is oval and not trianglure. Some mint marks at this grade of coin will lose the triangle inside shape due to wear and hits. The D on the GSC shows no wear or hits that would cause the D to lose its shape. The D on the GSC coin has been added.

I do something similar when I show friends my Kennedy halves. The 1963 and 1975 varieties from Danial Carr are right in there with them. I like seeing how long it takes for people to recognize them.

But I wonder if the same dealers you fooled were put into the same setting as graders are in if they would still miss the fact its a 1915? I guess it depends on their specialty area? Since paid graders are supposed to be experts in all areas, I cannot see them ever missing something this obvious.