1970-S Small Date Lincoln Memorial Cent

On the top one...I'd say , but that's just me.
It would probably be good to see that date without the overlap from the bottom coin.
Here's a good reference that explains SD/LD differences.

No doubt the top one is a small date.

To get up in the $50.00 range, it would have to be MS63 or MS64. I don't think yours would grade quite that high. There are better, more experienced Lincoln Cent Experts on here, let's see what they have to say. Maybe in the 55 grade range?

I would say MS63-MS64ish. Probably a nicer looking coin that the image gives credit. You could sell it on ebay if you want to go through the hassle.

A little lesson in grading...

MS60 is for an uncirculated coin that is either heavily bag marked, corroded, or something else desparately wrong with it. MS70 is for a perfect coin with no flaws visible under a 5X magnifier. MS65 is for a coin that has a couple of minor obvious marks or stains. All the other grades fall in-between those at even intervals.

So, in effect, saying that to get above MS60 you want to be able to comb your hair using the coin as a mirror is completely unrealistic. First of all, most uncirculated coins do not have a mirror finish, so that point is out automatically. But to achieve a coin that has so few flaws they would not be obvious to the unaided eye would be MS66 or MS67. So, in effect, if you are calling a red, shiny coin with a couple of obvious hits an MS62 (as an example), you are talking about the difference between around $150 and $5,000 as the difference between a 1921S cent in MS62RD as you would call it and MS65RD as the coin would actually grade professionally. You could be seriously hurt with such a conservative notion as to what coins should grade.

The best thing to do is get experience in what the professional services grade whatever coins you collect. If it's Lincoln cents, go to some shows, or to some dealer's shops, or even search sites that have GOOD photography of slabbed coins and take a look at a number of different grades, including the BN, RB, and RD designations. Look at everything, and remember what you see. Instead of instantly fighting the grading these slabs use, learn it and take advantage of having so many examples out there for you to see.

At any one local show I can find 20-30 coins to use as examples. At a regional or national show, I can find 200-300 examples. Online I could find at least 200 examples.

Instead of assuming your grading scale is correct, use the actual grading scales of the companies. You will be surprised at how far off your notion is.