1892 O Barber Dime Luster

At best it ekes out EF-40 sharpness, but the cheek scratches could detail it.



to the CCF!

i still say it is a nice coin

Agree with Frog, if you like it that's all that matters.

XF details, well stated by the upthread.

Although the coin *looks* clean, I wouldn't be willing to say do definitively based on these pics alone. I'd say "probably".

The "luster" is kind of a red flag though -- it's possible but very rare for original luster to survive on coins grading in the VF/XF range. That alone makes it likely this coin has been tampered with.

For what it is worth the reverse is quite beautiful.

I don't know why face scratches are so common on early Barber dimes, but they are. I would guess early coin slot devices of some kind at casinos, amusement parks, etc. Maybe even pay phones. There's a whole forensic science behind the scratching of Morgan dollars -- some people can tell you which casinos they spent time in, or whether the contact marks are from jostling around in bags at the mint or the back of Redfield's truck.

But with dimes, I don't think anyone has researched it much.

with @BH1964, although given the glare in the photos it's hard to fully judge the surfaces. Problem-free, original examples of this date in EF-40 are out there; it just takes a little searching. But if you like the coin, that's all that matters.