Q: Roosevelt Dime Grading tips?
clackamas
Posts: 5,615 ✭
I am a fairly decent grader but Roosies are fairly new to me. Are the main focal areas to look for marks the face on the obverse and the torch on the reverse? What is are the pick up points to determine 65/66/67/68 coins? I am mainly interested in silver coins. I have 2 sets from a friend of mine that were purchased 20 years ago for ~$275, so they are chock full of coins that are flawless and near flawless. I am trying to get a grasp on the ones worth having slabbed, mainly in the MS67 range. Strike is something I am not too familiar with with this series. What denotes a good/medium and poor strike? How man marks, if any are allowed for MS67, 68, 66 and 65? You experience is appreciated.
Brian
Brian
0
Comments
I have some high grade proofs but only one MS Roosey so can't answer the question.
If these early Roosies are anything like early Washington quarters,forget it.
On those old quarters,what looks like a weak strike,yet few contact marks,coin gets these MS67 grades?
I guess it all depends on the striking characteristics of the years of minting.
I guess for PUPs,look at a lot of roosies of variuos grades to see what the high points are...the ear?flame on torch?I,m guessing too now....sorry.Just trying to help.
I know we have some Roosie guys out there.We,ll hear from em shortly...
Sounds promising from here.
people trying to get the bands on the reverse recognized as the determining factor for
these coins, but full strikes are usually sufficiently attainable there there is little rationale
for looking at only one small feature of this small coin. Tip the coin sideways to identify
the high points. These are often the last to fill in. The lettering around the rim also tends
to fill a little late. The letters should stand up equally high at all points and the tops of the
letters should be rounded, not flattened. Marks can of course fall anywhere but tend to be
on the higher points. On the cheek and around the ear is typical. I have no clue how the
grading services judge these coins, but most are available with full or solid strikes. The sil-
vers are probably available mark free or nearly so(at least about half of them). Clads can
be found pristine though a few dates are pretty elusive.
Maybe that is the key to getting in on the ground floor for this series.
Got quoins?
Like many coins, ticks will be the death of your MS67 or beter candidates. Lets talk MS67 grades - first, No field marks. Second, good strike - especially noted on the In God We Trust obverse logo - good solid date with no weakness closest to the rim. Some weakness on the S mints can be excused as its prevalent and the coin is solid otherwise. Now the portrait - the hair; the hair is a focal spot and its pretty common to have marks in the hair - a few is ok but more than a few becomes a distraction and oops - there goes your MS67. PCGS hates rubs in the hair - even if its just toning-deep - it hampers the look that PCGS likes so much on dimes - that luster. Likewise, the ear is a contact magnet and PCGS seems to hate marks on the ear - needs to be round, full and clean, and well struck. As far as the portrait, the eyebrow is another high point that gets dinged frequently - another gotcha for a MS67. Similar to many other coins, the nose, cheek and jaw are also areas of primary focus though they don't seem to get the hairlines of larger coinage (a good thing). On the reverse, the branches and especially the oak leaves need to be well defined and struck. Little ticks on the touch stem are acceptable but it they cut across the bands - goodbye MS67. Again strike and luster are the key. Reverses don't seem to get as beat up as obverses and the torch seems to be the highest contact point. And a final word about toning - keep it light, make sure it has luster, and its even better if the obv and the reverse match - similar toning. While I have seen some toned MS67's with a white reverse, its clearly a minority. Any of the coins have a gray streaky reverse, that's a pretty big chip to overcome so something else to watch for. Rosy's are pretty small and they tone nicely and relatively quick.
MS68's tougher - I've made one and it did have ticks - one on the nose and a very small mark in the field behind the head - neither we distracting. It absolutly had the PCGS look - light toning on the rim, super luster, light portrait toning with a solid strike. The reverse was virtually flawless with toning that matched the obverse. PCGS doesn't grade many MS68's and to the best of my knowledge, no white coins though a Board member did just recently, I understand, make an almost white coin. Always worth shooting for........
Now the disclaimer - I'm no certainly expert but this is what I commonly look for and what I experienced sending dimes to PCGS and crossing NGC MS67 dimes. There are several experienced members I know on the Boards that I hope will weigh in and do an even better job than I con - wondercoin and rainbowroosie are just two that come to mind. But this is a start. Good luck and if you get any killer toned MS67's - PM me as that's what I like!
If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
rainbowroosie April 1, 2003
Personally, I think it is easier to make a 7 in the 46-64 series because of the silver content.
The ticks really come into play in the 1967-1980 dimes. The mass production techniques in my opinion causes a lot of ticks and the clad metal sucks. You can have minor ticks and still make the 67 as long as they are not on the smooth surfaces of the portrait. I got a 67 the other day that had a tick in the eyebrow. I have an early 70's coin in 65 that is a pop 8/6 coin, and that is not because nobody is trying to make them. Nobody saved any quality coins from this era, and now they are really tough to find. Examine a few early 70's mint sets at your next show and you will see what I mean.
To me, all of the clad series, especially quarters, have the same issues and are treated in the same way.
to evaluate strike for grades MS67 or higher. Please also remember that NGC is far more fair on
Roosevelts than PCGS. This my opinion due to experience, particullarly with toned specimens. NGC
is more technical in their grading with respect to heavy toning. PCGS is more luster oriented and is
biased in favor of white blazers. Both evaluate marks/nicks/etc, in the same way.
Brian.