Want an affordable, "modern" coin challenge? Find a 1969 Philadelphia dime in change.
kwmorgan
Posts: 967 ✭
I finally bought one a coin show a while back to fill the Whitman slot, but nearly 1 year later I continue to scan my pocket change for one. Nada. I've found a few 1971-P's, but not even one 1969-P. I am rather surprised.
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BTW, I agree with you that finding a 1969P dime in change is quite difficult. Same goes for a 1969P quarter and cent.
Yeah, sanction. 1969-P and 1968-D quarters are a toughie now. I was surprised to find a decent AU 1968-P in change the other day.
San Diego, CA
I still remember the last clad quarter I needed for one set, 1998-P. I cannot count the times I have seen this date in hand and always think back to this being the last one needed.
<< <i>Back when I was looking (94-95), it would only take a few days to find a full clad set of dimes and quarters as well as a 64-date set of Jeffersons and 59-date set of Lincolns. Found every Jefferson except a 39-D this way.
>>
It has gotten a lot tougher to find these in the last ten or fifteen years. The obvious reason
is that collectors are pulling them out for collections but this is really a fairly small part of the
cause. The major reason (especially with the clad and one cent coins) is simple dilution; so
many coins have been added to the population that you have to look much further to find the
tougher dates. There's also the continuing normal attrition. Around 3% of the quarters are
lost or destroyed each year and it's should be slightly higher for the well-worn older coins be-
cause they roll and slide more easily and can fall through smaller cracks.
All these coins appeared to be represented in circulation strictly according to their mintages in
1998. Not only I saw this but the Chicago FED did an extensive study of these in '97 and found
the same thing. Since that time it appears as though selective attrition is having a small effect
on populations of many of the circulating coins. The '69-D quarter is one of the highest and
may account for ten or fifteen percent of the surviving mintages. This means some six or eight
million of these may not be actively circulating because they are held by collectors. It also ap-
pears that there are significantly more of the nice VG-F+ coins missing than the AG-VG. The %age
of damaged better date coins is increasing rapidly. This is likely caused more by being passed
over than being intentionally damaged.
Collectors have a disconcerting habit of culling their collections and hoards periodically so many
of the better dates not being seen will return to circulation. This will tend to cause the better
dates to begin wearing more slowly as they spend time in collections.
Some of these coins exist in huge numbers in BU rolls and to a lesser extent, the mint sets. But
this applies primarily to the cents, some nickels, 1965 issues, and the bicentennial quarters. The
others can be nearly non-existent in rolls and bags. Those BU's which exist in large numbers en-
ter circulation after the rolls are checked for gems and varieties. These will account for most of
the VF and better older coins that are seen. Those which aren't found in rolls are less often found
nice and are often from mint sets.
While a '69-P dime is tough, the real challenge is to find a nice well-struck example with light wear.
About the nicest you'll find now days is a VG though there are a few up to VF. "Nobody" set aside
XF's and AU's and these are mostly gone. There are no BU rolls. The '69 dime in mint sets is lit-
tle better quality than the quarter and this set is getting difficult to locate due to huge attrition.
Many people are coming to recognize this situation and the mint set has gotten quite expensive.
When you consider that the typical '69 mint set is unattractive and contains only one or two choice
coins the price is quite remarkable. Gem '69 dimes appear in about 10% of original mint sets.
The 1969-P was no problem
Some others I didn't find, I thought would be easier
Happy Hunting
Jim
Menomonee Falls Wisconsin USA
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistr...dset.aspx?s=68269&ac=1">Musky 1861 Mint Set
<< <i>So...should we start to hoard 1969 mint sets??? We have been told by DHeath and others of the potential of higher graded quarters (69-P)...now we are hearing of the possible "scarcity" of the nickels and dimes in circulated grades....interesting!
I don't think so but then I have a vested interest in seeing these coins stay
as widely dispersed as possible. It's also nice to be able to find interesting
coins in circulation so hoarding works against this.
1969 mint sets aren't the be all, end all of circulating moderns. There are lots
of great coins that don't appear in any mint sets and some gems are easier to
find elsewhere. This is doubly true if you seek clean coins moreso than those
which are well struck.
There are other dates of great interest as well. Some of these are ones you
wouldn't think of because on the surface they appear quite common. The '70-D
quarter for instance had a mintage over 400 million and is easily found in change.
It's one of the few eagle reverse clad quarter rolls that you can actually find with
a little effort. The mint sets are expensive but easily located and quantities can
be located with effort. Despite this being apparently quite common choice and
gem examples are found almost exclusively in the mint sets. But this coin appears
in circulation almost always as a heavily worn coin. Nice attractive examples are
tough in circulation which means many will turn to mint sets. While these are av-
ailable the supply can not stand up to any real demand.
Across the board there are interesting coins and unique stories for circulating
coins. Even the very most common (1975-D 1C) BU coin has an interesting story
since so large a percentage of the circulating coins are gone now. The remainder
tends to be very lightly worn. Gems are common but well-struck gems are pretty
elusive.
And, of course, there are the numerous varieties. Many of these are scarce or rare
despite sometimes high mintages just because of high attrition. Some probably
don't even exist in unc. Best of all is that they can be found in circulation.
W.C. Fields
I find 1969-D rather commonly (for its age) and occasionally 1971-P. I live in a geographic region that sometimes gets Philly mint, sometimes Denver mint. I am guessing back in 1969 we mainly got Denver mint dimes and in 1971 a good slug of Philly mint dimes. Cladking I'm sure knows more about this than I, but I suspect coins tend to hang around in their Federal Reserve districts quite significantly. I'm in the G-7 (Chicago) district.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
<< <i>... I suspect coins tend to hang around in their Federal Reserve districts quite significantly. I'm in the G-7 (Chicago) district. >>
I would think they'd be well dispersed by the time they average VF condition. It takes longer
than ever for coins to wear and the cents will never wear sufficiently.
<< <i>What makes me think they hang around is that whenever I've gone to "Where's George" to enter a dollar bill, the bill has not traveled much more than 500 miles or so. Just a theory, anyway.
I haven't looked at the coins on the coasts as well as those in the midwest but
when other people look there don't seem to be many surprises or differences.
Currency gets spent pretty quickly and doesn't have much longevity in circulation.
After a few dozen transactions the bills will be tattered and removed. Coins can
make dozens of transactions per year and then it will take a couple decades to
wear to VF.
<< <i>Very true. Perhaps the reason I can't find a 1969-P dime is newcomp103. He had seven of them in that change jar! ( I am teasing you, newcomp!)
PM sent!