Questions For The Roosie Crowd

MS70Dreams

Hi All

I am new to the boards and have just started my first registry set (Roosevelt Dimes). I have been collecting/accumulating raw coins off and on for about twenty years. It all started when I received my first coins in a proof set as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. I have read several numismatic books and have been visiting area shows and dealers to begin my serious coin education.

I really want to hone my grading skills and have been reviewing the raw coins I already have. I have purchased some PCGS graded Roosies as general examples of each grade for comparison. I have read in past posts that most experienced dealers/collectors can generally grade a coin in a matter of seconds.

I was hoping some of the Roosie experts would share their individual processes for quickly summing up a coin. Such as, what are the key indicators of a fully struck Roosie? How do you detract points from the surface preservation based on a tick(s) and the placement of that mark? Lustre seems to be the easiest thing for me to grade. Having professionally graded material also helps as a reference. For eye appeal I like white coins, although I have nothing against toned coins. I decided early on to pick a look to make my set consistent. Also, my pockets are not quite deep enough to buy the coins I want with good toning.

I realize there are no shortcuts to becoming a knowledgeable, well rounded collector. I am willing to put in the time to get the experience and to look at a lot of coins. I was hoping the experts here would help me get a leg up and make gaining that experience more productive.

Mike

Dan50

Welcome Mike, we love to have new Roosie collectors come aboard.

I'm no expert, hell fire, I'm dumb as dirt, so I'll leave it to someone else to answer your questions.

MS70Dreams

Dan

Thanks for the welcome.

Dont be so hard on yourself, by the looks of your set you have a pretty good eye for the Roosies.

zkcoins

Enjoy your stay here on the boards.

Mistercoinman

Welcome to the boards. For the best knowledge and grading of Roosies look up onlyroosies, Stooge, or colorfulcoins they have made most of the top pop roosies on the boards. Fred

cladking

Welcome aboard.

Roosies will generally have the peripheral lettering and date the last areas to fill. Many
of the dies used won't be sharply defined so will never make any coins that are sharp.
This is especially a problem on the right side of the split of the bands.

Look for smooth original surfaces and lack of marking. Silver issues are tougher in that
coins have to be found already slabbed or raw in the rolls and these can be expensive in
their own right. Clads are scarcer but are more easily found in most date mint sets.

MS70Dreams

zkcoins, mistercoinman thanks for the welcome.

I am looking forward to learning a lot on these boards.

cladking - thanks for the info

I have noticed on some dimes the "L" & "I" in "Liberty" and the "W" in "In God We Trust" taper off or are flatter near the rim of the coin. I guess the strike of a coin is a pretty diverse topic. I have an MS68 Roosie that looks very sharp with well pronounced wrinkles on Roosevelts forehead and great detail on the cap of the lower acorn on the reverse, but the right side of the bottom bands are flat and not very well split. I have several MS66's that dont have as sharp of details on the forehead or acorn but have well defined bands on the torch.

I guess I just need to find a coin that has both

Colorfulcoins

Howdy MS70dreams, welcome to the roosiest place on earth!

How do you tell.....takes some practice. Basically, the things you might look for in white coins (quick overview):

1. Look & luster. Many would say when a grader looks at a coin, they form a 1st impression then look closer at the coin to validate their 1st impression. The coin needs to literally make you say "wow, look at this one" when you pick it up. Nice rolling luster and pleasing to the eye. Pretty tough to get a high grade (MS67 or MS68) without having the look.

2. Technical merit. The coin has to be clean - not perfect but not distracting. Small marks can be fine especially when NOT in the focal areas - the focal areas being on the ear rim (high point), cheek/jaw, forehead, and fields. You can get away with a small mark in these areas (cheek may be the most critical) but 2 marks is probably the kiss of death. In the other areas, the graders can be more lienent - marlk in the hair for example are quite common and a few small ones is generally ok - On the reverse, Rosy's tend to grade higher than obverses much of the time. Small marks on the stalk are generally tolerated as are a nick on the leaves. In general, the reverse grades 1/2 point higher than obverse - meaning the obverse many time dictates the grade.

3. Strike. Like most series, certain date Rosy's are known for having less than full full strikes. In general, this is most notably true of the S-mint coins. The earliest coins such as the 1946S tend to be well struck but as you go thru the years, the coins tend to get weaker - the 49S is quite commonly weaker struck with weakness about the margins on the obverse - much more so than the 48S. I think the 50S got stronger and then the strike quality declined again with the later dates, 54S and 55S being known for weakness of strike - obverse and reverse. No place is strike quality more evident than in the lower torch bands. PCGS has designated FB and NGC has designated FT for coins with both upper and lower split bands (NGC also looks at the verticals). Most commonly, its the lower bands that are least often found fully struck. There can be no marks, cut, specks, or other obstructions in the bands or the coin won't get the designation. Certain dates are quite scarce - but interestingly enough it tends to be the later P-mint coins such as the 63P, 61P, 58P, 57P, 56P, and 55P most notably. Many of these coins are well struck except for the lower bands - quite different from the S-mint coins where more notable strike weakness is evident on other parts of the coin.

This is a start, give it some time and look at lots of coins!

MS70Dreams

colorfulcoins

WOW********

Thanks for the info. You cleared up many of the questions and uncertainties that have been rolling around in my head. Thanks for the response.

To everyone thanks for making me feel welcome. I look forward to learning with you all here on the boards.

Mike