Coin Clinic: The Difference Between Prooflike and Deep Mirror Prooflike

What is the difference between a Prooflike and a Deep Mirror Prooflike Morgan silver dollar?

A coin must first be at least Mint State 60 to qualify for either. According to Professional Coin Grading Service, the Prooflike has “mirrored surfaces at a distance of two to four inches. If the cartwheel effect or striations cause an area to lose clarity, the designation will not apply.” A DMPL will show “deep reflectivity, i.e. deeply mirrored surfaces. The differences between PL and DMPL is one of degree.”

Can coins be authenticated by a third party certification service without being graded as well?

I doubt the third party services get much demand for a coin to be examined for authenticity without that coin being graded and encapsulated as well, but being that they are businesses, I’m certain for a fee any of them would render an opinion of authenticity without grading the coin as well.

Misspelled words appear on some early U.S. coins including a large cent and half dime. Are there any misspellings on recent U.S. coins I should look for?

There are Liberty Seated half dollars with die cracks that make the word ‘Half’ appear to read as ‘Hale.’ Some Lincoln cents have die chips that result in the word ‘Libierty.’ The most recent such mistake appears on the 2005-P Kansas Statehood quarter on which, due to a die flaw, the reverse legend may read ‘In God We Rust.’

Couldn’t the Peace dollar count as another coin on which there is a misspelled word due to Trust being spelled as Trvst?

The U that appears as a V on the 1921 to 1935 Peace silver dollar coins was considered to be a stylized letter U at the time the design was approved. The unusual spelling or shaping of a letter within the word ‘Trust’ was intentional.

How can I be certain my Mercury or Roosevelt dimes have full bands?

Dimes with a Full Bands designation must be in an Uncirculated grade. The central crossbands on the reverse of the Mercury dime must be fully separated and void of any cuts or bag type marks. It is the upper and lower horizontal bands on the torch on the Roosevelt dime that must be fully separated and void of cuts or marks to qualify as having Full Bands.

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