1896 ? Barber Quarter

If I was not absolutely sure, I personally would have taken the $10 gamble :) (if I did not have a loupe)
Sounds like a FR2 coin on the low end. I did this once with a 1927 SLQ, got home and turned out the blob was a faint S.

I sure thought about it... but I've been burned before with "wishful thinking", only to come home, have a closer look, and feel like an idiot.

Part of my problem was a lack of precise knowledge of mintmark location variation and mintmark style. I was thinking... if it were an "O", would I buy it, and how big would the "O" be? Or, it might have been from Philly with distracting marks under the eagle... who knows?

johnny: Perhaps you're right. Mathematically speaking, to do what I did I'd have to be 100 times more sure of it NOT being an "S", and I was less than 10 times more sure it wasn't. (On the other hand, rational mathematics doesn't factor in the "I got burned again!" factor.)

I might go get it next week just to post pictures, and maybe be laughed at! :)

edit: What gives me some hope is that my dealer is much more concerned with jewellery and dealing PM than with numismatic coins. I've found some good stuff there before. Most coins (and coin collectors like me) are just a nuisance.

While you are at it, you should educate yourself on how to identify 1916 SLQs without a date. There is a chance one of those dateless guys you were looking through could be a diamond in the rough!