My New 16d Merc

Will your dealer be there to honor his guarantee in 20 years?

It's one of the most commonly counterfeited coins there is. It's worth getting checked by an expert, IMO.

Send it to ANACS. Most cost efficient.

Even as a kid, I felt that it was wrong to peddle this vial of mintmarks that would result in deceptive coins entering the marketplace. IMHO, that's the bad news ... Encouraging fraud. I recall that the majority, if not all of these mintmarks, D's and S's mixed, had been removed from Lincoln Cents. These could then presumably be used to alter Philadelphia Mint Lincolns, like 1909, 1914, 1931.

Among my collection of altered and counterfeit coins reside some added mintmarks ... 1916-D Dime, 1893-S Dollar, 1909-S Indian. These can easily fool the average collector and many a dealer as the coins, themselves, are genuine. I have shown these to fellow collectors so as to encourage them to be wary and invest in the study guides that help serious collectors learn what to look for. It's important for collectors to comprehend that many of these altered and counterfeit coins have long resided in collections with the owner being ignorant of what they possessed.

Be careful to make sure its not bent, uneven wear on the rims can sometimes signify that.

I don't think you were being trying to be funny. If you were, it was very smooth delivery. The ..."bent coins rock" statement almost made my coffee go on the monitor.

Consider the money you spend to get it graded as insurance. Even if you crack it out to put it in an album, you will have the "paperwork", grading pictures, the information about the coin will be on the website and the remains from the slab you could put in the back of your book or something.

I am going to repeat a story I have been told. I will take liberties, add assorted fiction, and use other deceptions to make the story read better and sensationalize the entire fabrication. The story goes something like this:

PGCS and NGC are set up in Madison Square Garden (substitute where up want it at) next to each other for largest East Coast Auction and show at the time. One TPG has a slab with a 1916 Liberty Dime in it from the other company. The coin is labeled Liberty Dime 1916 D AU Details. However, the D is not on the coin, it is loose, in the holder. Someone had glued, solder, or did something to pass the coin off as the real deal and it came loose. That is about how the story goes. I think there was a sign that said "don't make a $25000 mistake" All of this is pure fiction I hope and most likely it is. I don't know which did what, if anything, ever.

That is about how I remember hearing the story. Is it true? Who knows. I doubt it. But, worse things have happened.

"The 1916-D issue of only 264,000 coins is highly sought after, due largely to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the dimes struck at the Denver Mint in 1916 carried the per-existing Barber design. Thus, the 1916-D is worth up to thousands of dollars if it is in relatively fine condition. A considerable number of common 1916 Philadelphia mint dimes have been altered with a "D" added, so buyers should be careful to purchase only from reputable dealers or to accept only sealed and graded coins."


I am trying to be humorous in this post...some will not find it humorous and some will. If the D falls off or is loose, then I am sure it will not be humorous, at all, ever.

Good luck! I've gotten G4 on one of a pair of AG3s.

GT-

There have been multiple reports of loose MM in a TPG case.