1923-S Mercury dime. San Francisco, 6,440,000 struck. A better date in the series, scarce in Mint State and particularly challenging in the higher uncirculated grades.
90% silver, 2.5 grams, KM#140. Designed by Adolph Weinman, whose monogram appears to the right of Liberty’s neck on the obverse.
THE TONING
Gold, rose, lavender and blue across both faces, strongest through the right side of the reverse. Toning of this kind is an interference effect: the colours change in intensity with the lighting and viewing angle. A still photograph fixes one light at one angle, so the colour in these pictures is a sample of what the coin does rather than the whole of it.
THE BANDS
Not sold as Full Bands. Photograph 5 is a macro of the fasces at full resolution, and photographs 3 and 4 show the date and mintmark the same way. Look at the bands and make your own call. I am not making it for you and I am not charging you for it.
THE STRIKE AND DETAIL
LIBERTY is complete and sharp across the obverse. The wing feathers are separated, the hair detail is present, and the Weinman monogram is crisp. The mintmark is shown close up in photograph 4 at full resolution so you can inspect its shape, position and surrounding surface.
ABOUT MY PHOTOGRAPHS
My photographs are never edited beyond cropping and resizing for eBay. No Photoshop, no filters, no retouching, no colour correction. The full-coin shots are taken on a copy stand under a single light; the close-up detail shots are taken handheld with a macro lens.
If you want more photographs, at a different angle or under different light, ask and I will take them. I would rather send you five more pictures than have you buy a coin you are not sure about.
SOLD RAW
Sold raw and ungraded. I make no representation as to grade, no representation as to Full Bands, and none as to the origin of the toning. I am not a grading service and my opinion of a coin is not a substitute for your own.
Buy the coin, not the description.
30-day returns.
Coin and Co Numismatics
Kingston, Ontario