Possible 1916D MERC Find!!!

Sleepy Holow · May 25, 2013

WOW!!!

I was just looking at 1916D's the other night on ebay! This is crazy!! So I was going through my last two dime boxes of the day with blazing speed because my wife and I are moving for the summer on Monday. It was like 1123AM and I wanted to dump these coins before noon. I look at this dime roll, see no silver, and pour the roll into the dump pile. I see an extremely dirty coin, pick it up..."Oh, it's a merc". So I set it aside because I can't even read the date. Go to the dump bank, come back, check the date..."Man, that really looks like it says 1916...I better turn this over slowly...okay, there's a mint mark...hmm, looks like it's an 'S', but it's tough to tell...man, I wish i owned a magnifying glass...I know, I'll take a picture of it and look at it on the computer...". My wife was like "Why are you so excited??" I showed her the mintage chart for Mercs and then I showed her the ebay listings for what 1916D's in AG03 condition are going for. Then she was on board... :laughing7:

I brought up the pictures on the computer and saw that glorious 'D'!!! Or at least I think it is...Hope its not an 'S' that someone jacked with. I called the LCS and told them I wanted their opinion. This coin looks like someone dug it up, so I think it stands a chance at being the real deal. Here's hoping! HH Sleepy

note: Obverse was taken with no flash and the reverse was taken with flash

palidin20603 · May 25, 2013

looks more like an S. Are you going to get it slabbed?

vpnavy · May 25, 2013

Nice find Sleepy Holow!

bigscores · May 25, 2013

Obviously an S. Sorry.

Sleepy Holow · May 25, 2013

Went to the LCS...Guy was pretty short with me like he usually is. This is my non-preferred LCS, but the other one was closed. He was like "It's an 'S'" Kinda disappointed I asked to him to check again and he was like "It's an 'S', not worth much!" Okay, didn't ask for that...I went to a pawn shop and asked to use their Jeweler's loupe and I saw it was clearly an 'S'. Sorry, guess I called down the celebration premature. Kind of embarrassing! So yeah...

CladSmoke · May 25, 2013

If you don't want it, I'll gladly take it off your hands :-)

Sleepy Holow · May 25, 2013

palidin20603 said:
looks more like an S. Are you going to get it slabbed?

Based on the amount of detail in the coin, I think it could grade around VF35-XF40 range. I was reading this webpage below where the guy is talking about cleaning silver coins in ammonia and vinegars baths. Never clean a coin? Or is it never polish a coin? or both? Does the dark toning matter when getting it graded.

PCGS Photograde Online

Coin Cleaning Secrets of the Ancients (me)

Iamrussell · May 25, 2013

Ya sorry can tell its an S

Too bad

GlenDronach · May 25, 2013

Just a note for any 1916D future hopefuls, this is a notoriously faked coin.

If you find one that is burned, it's a good start. Someone either botched manipulating it, or they are trying to wear the coin down or burn it to conceal their work. They either add a D, shave it down and add the reverse of another D merc, or manipulate the S. Unless it's just a fake coin to begin with.

If I see a 1916D, and it is burned or heavily worn at the edges, particularly by the mintmark, I am pretty sure it's fake right away.

bigscores · May 25, 2013

Sleepy Holow said:
Based on the amount of detail in the coin, I think it could grade around VF35-XF40 range. I was reading this webpage below where the guy is talking about cleaning silver coins in ammonia and vinegars baths. Never clean a coin? Or is it never polish a coin? or both? Does the dark toning matter when getting it graded.

PCGS Photograde Online

Coin Cleaning Secrets of the Ancients (me)

It's worth melt, sorry.

mountainman 2 · May 25, 2013

Don't be embarrassed. I'd be excited too if i pulled a 1916 with a unclear mintmark. Still a 97 year old coin out of a box. Nice!

SilverForBrains · May 28, 2013

bigscores said:
It's worth melt, sorry.

not entirely true, I had a very worn 1916 that I put up on ebay to let others determine for themselves what it was. brought in $15 even though there was a 99.999% chance it was an S

SilverForBrains · May 28, 2013

I think accordsleux is right on this one

fistfulladirt · May 28, 2013

SilverForBrains said:
not entirely true, I had a very worn 1916 that I put up on ebay to let others determine for themselves what it was. brought in $15 even though there was a 99.999% chance it was an S

A dirtfishing buddy of mine dug a '16D merc last year, he also dug a well worn '16S that brought $21 on ebay. Have dug a few '16 mercs myself, although never roll hunted one.

Sleepy Holow · May 28, 2013

That's what I was trying to say...I think there's still quite a bit of detail left in this 97 year old coin. You can still see split bands in the bottom set of bands.

SilverForBrains · May 29, 2013

fistfulladirt said:
A dirtfishing buddy of mine dug a '16D merc last year, he also dug a well worn '16S that brought $21 on ebay. Have dug a few '16 mercs myself, although never roll hunted one.

I originally thought people were taking the gamble on the off chance they could be D's. now that I think of it, there's probably a big market for well worn 16s's to alter so they look like D's

GlenDronach · May 29, 2013

SilverForBrains said:
I originally thought people were taking the gamble on the off chance they could be D's. now that I think of it, there's probably a big market for well worn 16s's to alter so they look like D's

Yea, the joke is 264,000 minted, 500,000 known to exist!