Get Well to Del Romines

Murphy · April 1, 2006 9:11AM

I heard about a man in my neighborhood that is supposed to be a pioneer in identifying Varieties so I gave him a call and I'm very glad that I did. We talked for fifteen or twenty minutes about coins and his experiences collecting them. He said that back in 1944 he opened a box of Cracker Jacks and it had one of those little magnifying glasses inside. He started looking at things with it and pulled a 1942 nickel out of his pocket to see it up close. He noticed something funny with the date. It looked like a 1 had been struck under the 2! And that was the start of his variety collecting career. Since that time he has found over 1,000 varieties listed with CONECA and written 2 books and a pamphlet as he calls it on how to tell the different die states on coins. From what I understand, he was the one who came up with the system of die states that we now use in Variety coin collecting. He said that several years ago he was just getting too old to enjoy the hobby and so he sold his coins to two separate dealers and moved to Louisville, Kentucky from Georgia. His name is Del Romines and I was saddened to hear him say that he's in very bad health, because he's such a nice guy and a pleasure to talk to.

EDIT - Some of you wanted to relay your best wishes to Del in his recuperation and I thought I would buy a card for him and include your names and messages inside. So if you know Dell and want to wish him a quick recovery then post your name and message if you have one.

longtimecollector · April 1, 2006 9:17AM

I didn't know he was still around........ Great Guy........ Next time you see him, tell him "Jim from Chicago says "Hey""

kranky · April 1, 2006 9:18AM

Del Romines is a name I've heard many, many times in connection with varieties.

INXS · April 1, 2006 9:25AM

He has also written a, if not the, book on Hobo nickels.

Murphy · April 1, 2006 10:20AM

That's right! He said he wrote TWO books on Hobo Nickels. Thanks for mentioning that INXS.

pharmer · April 1, 2006 10:43AM

Geez Murph, he's the man in varieties. Look at the attributions in all the variety books, his name appears far more than anyone else. A Legend is right.

CaptHenway · April 1, 2006 2:53PM

I remember when Del came into the Collectors Clearinghouse office around 1977 with two low-grade 1943/42-P nickels. I told him that they sure looked like overdates to me, but that because of the condition I wanted to run them in Coin World to see if somebody could turn up a higher grade specimen to confirm the overdate. I did, and a week later a collector from Sidney, Bern Nagengast, cherrypicked a BU down in Dayton.
If you see him again, tell him Tom DeLorey says Hi.

Myqqy · April 1, 2006 2:56PM

I'm sorry to hear about his poor health......

oreville · April 1, 2006 3:07PM

Oh my what a legend he is. I really looked up to him. Sad to hear of his health! Tell him I have always been a fan of his.

Any way we can send a "Happy Easter" card to him? Send them to you and you can forward to him?

I see another "almost legend" has posted here as well. Hi CaptHenway! Nice to see you here. Did not realize you are TD! You are another pro in my book!

Murphy · April 2, 2006 2:08AM

That's a good idea OREVILLE. But instead of you all sending me a card, I'll buy a Get-Well card for Del Romines and include your names and messages inside. I'm sure that would be some of the best medicine that he could receive. I'll start a post entitled "Get Well to Del Romines" and you can put your names and short messages there. I encourage all who know him to wish him well. Thanks.

EDIT - I just changed the title of this thread. Ok with y'all?

joeyuk · April 2, 2006 2:14AM

Yes I 've seen his name often in the variety books. Breaking ground when it was much less popular.
I wish him the best. Joe

AZLARRY · April 2, 2006 2:26AM

This hobo nickel was on ebay a short time ago. ebay listing 8396566455.

cladking · April 2, 2006 2:34AM

He's a very important figure in coin collecting and has probably found as many modern varieties
as anyone.

I wish him the best.

OffMetal · April 2, 2006 2:38AM

Get well soon!

-Ben

DieVarieties · April 2, 2006 2:45AM

Del: Wishing you a speedy recovery -- Billy

oreville · April 2, 2006 5:32AM

Del: Get better real soon! We need you to tell us more of your great stories and discoveries real soon!

EagleEye · April 2, 2006 8:48AM

I'd like to relay my best wishes for his recovery. He discovered many indian cent varieties before I knew what one was!

pontiacinf · April 2, 2006 9:16AM

<< <i>That's right! He said he wrote TWO books on Hobo Nickels. Thanks for mentioning that INXS. >>

I love those books. Ever since my father started telling the story of finding a buffalo nickel on the New Haven green that had been carved to look like in his words "someone scalped him and threw on a top hat" my gradfather would counter with "break out dels book".

I miss those times.

Cameonut · April 2, 2006 9:54AM

Get well soon. I've never had the pleasure of meeting you, but I have admired your work for years.

seanq · April 2, 2006 1:37PM

Del is not just a legend, he's a pioneer. I wouldn't garner 1/10th the enjoyment I do out of this hobby without his ground-breaking work on variety coins. I join everyone else here in wishing him a speedy and full recovery.

Sean Reynolds

Conder101 · April 3, 2006 3:12AM

Is Del back in Louisville again? I've known Del for over 30 years. I hadn't anything about or from him in quite some time now I thouht he had died. (He has always claimed to heve been in very ill health as long as I've known him, and that he didn't have much longer to live. So he's been at deaths door for at least thirty years.) He lived in Louisville back then, and to a large part I lost touch with him when he left Louisville and moved to Georgia. He did write the first book on Hobo nickels, but I was under the impression that the second book listed his wife Joyce as the author. Yep, the second book does list Joyce as the author.

Del is very good on varieties, and he has a keen grasp on the minting process because for many years he worked in a business that did metal stamping using dies somewhat like coinage type dies. But he has made claims in the past to me which have resulted in my taking anything he says with at least a small grain of salt and preferably a secondary confirmation source.

Get Well to Del Romines

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