Stone Mountain Commemorative Tips And ?

And both are nice examples of slabbed MS-65 coins. I am not an expert on dipping so I will leave that question for the more educated forum members.

In my opinion, both of the coins you linked to have been dipped in their past; they are still nice examples of the Stone Mountain, however. The minimal toning seen on each could be "left over" after the dipping or be the start of the coin retoning.

Regarding TPG services and dipping.a coin that has been dipped - but not excessively so - will more often than not still be graded (as long as hairline scratches were not introduced by someone when they dried the coin after it was dipped and rinsed with water). A coin that has seen minimal dipping will almost always continue to show nice luster (assuming the coin had it before it was dipped), a coin that has been over-dipped will be bright but appear "flat" and "lifeless" with its luster impaired.

In response to your request for information on "what I should look for" - I would suggest that, within the grade range you can afford, you take the time to locate coins with minimal marks on the main design elements, that show an above average strike (based on the level of detail seen on the coin's high points) and that continue to possess nice luster. This will require you to examine multiple coins (likely dozens) of each type in the series before understanding the characteristics of the issue, but I believe you will be happier with your purchases in the years to come.

Hope that helps!

Great advice and information. Thanks so much. I'll keep looking for a while before I buy one most likely but it's definitely on my list. Part of the problem though is there are many more examples online than there are locally (not that many coin shows in my area) but it's (at least for me) very hard to judge the luster though online pics...although great collections does seem to have good pics. Thanks again for the help. Cheers