Expert: Dan Moore - 7/6/2008

Question
I recently inherited lots of coins.  Most are US and dated from the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's.  All were pocket change at some time.  None were in books.  Some were in rolls with dates written on the outside.  I bought some coin books and started filling them.  I know very little about coin collecting but am very entertained looking at the coins.  Now I am going through my own change and filling current newer coin books.  I came across a Roosevelt dime that I couldn't read the date on.  I can see 19--.  The entire rim is very crisp and sharp as is the mint mark P.  "In God We Trust" has no "IN" or "WE". "LIBERTY" is missing the the top of the "L".  The back of the dime is very clear and sharp.  Can you tell me what happened?  And can you recommend a good reference book for a novice like myself?  I went to the book store thinking I would pick one up, but went away empty handed.  Thank you, Susan

Answer
Susan,

It sounds like the die used to strike the front of your dime was extremely worn out (while the reverse die was fine) -- it happens, and the coins do not get filtered out through quality control because there are simply too many millions of them minted to catch this error.  Collector value is minimal.

For a good general beginner's book, I recommend "The Guide Book of United States Coins 2009 (Official Red Book)", available here :

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0794824943/theworkimansrare

It tells you about all the U.S. Coins ever made, how to grade them, mintages, and values.

I hope this helps,

Dan