Honestly "grading" is a process that will cost you quite a few bucks...I'll say $50 as a minimum without any specials, and ask anyone to correct me. You can buy one of those already graded for a few bucks. Welcome to CT
Unless there was a chance of it coming back as a 70 (it won't) then monetarily it would not be worth it. You will have more tied up in grading cost than the coin is worth. You can get them graded for as little as $10-20 but it still isn't worth it. In the end the decision is up to you though.
best bet is to buy a graded one on Ebay where someone is trying to recoup some money when they thought they had a 70 and it came back as a 66. (They prob sent 25 rolls in on that occasion btw) Those are the opportunities to use Ebay. Here is an example. 2 highest grade know. The guy has 5 for sale that he is asking $39 or best offer. for $34 but you can skip the whole grading process because frankly the pic you put up doesn't look (like to) me as a MS67.
Welcome to Coin Talk Cheryl. I'm curious to know why you think your 1979 penny is special enough to have it graded.
Even better is get a Redbook and look at the values of coins and their grades. That alone will keep you from making a costly mistake.
Don't bother, grading has become a scams. Learn the coin and evaluate by your opinion. Look for deep stricks by the tools. I like the proofs for example of good details of the coin. Your red book gives detail examples of how to grade. It's our Bible not the grading companies who's interest is profit. COMIN SENCE.
Here... It's an old post intended for someone else, so just ignore what doesn't apply to you. The basics of what makes a coin a worthy candidate still stands.
NO...Common Sense is a rare commodity. TPG's exist only because people want and tolerate them. Can't say I'm wild about them, but I won't bad mouth them. The grading guidelines in the Red Book are REALLY basic.
Common sense is almost non existent. Just like the prices in the Red Book, the definitions of grading are a guideline.
