In the March/April issue of CONECA's ErrorScope, Tanay Wakhare wrote an article about the little discussed transitional reverse varieties of the 1969 and 1970 Roosevelt dimes.

What the heck is that?

Well, basically there are two reverse types found on 1969-P, 1970-P, and 1970-D Roosevelt dimes, As Wakhare explains in the article:"The regular reverse (RDV-001) features the torch in low relief, while the transitional reverse is RDV-002; it's obvious to the naked eye since it has two deep valleys in the torch flame. RDV-002 was used on business strikes from 1971 onwards and proof strikes from 1968 onwards, so it's conceivable that a proof reverse could have been used for business strike dimes."Wakhare continues to say that RDV-002 is listed are "rare" on the 1969-P, 1970-P, and 1970-D dimes by CONECA; however, reports that she was able to find several from a very small sample. From a sample of 47 coins, Wakhare found twenty-two 1969-P, 1970-P, and 1970-D Roosevelts with RDV-002 total.I recently purchased two rolls of uncirculated 1970-D Roosevelts and thought that I would also take a look to see what I could find. From a sample of twenty-three 1970-D dimes, Wakhare found 15 with RDV-002, which accounted for 65% of the sample. But here's what I came up with from those two rolls:1970-D Dimes Roll #1There were zero coins with RDV-002. However, I did find a Cherrypicker's DDR -- FS-802 MDS (also CONECA DDR-004). I actually have this coin for sale here: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7678575#Post76785751970-D Dimes Roll #2From this roll I found eleven coins with RDV-002, which accounted for 22% of the roll. However, only two of these had nice strikes. The remaining nine have heavy to very heavy metal flow lines around their perimeters on both sides. One of the two nice examples is photographed below.I must admit that I am unsure whether or not these rolls have been searched before. The lack of any RDV-002 in the first roll makes me a bit suspicious; however, the variety might be a bit too obscure for most people to pay any attention.And, as I mentioned, there was a DDR in the first roll; however, the coins could still have been previously searched and the DDR overlooked. Both rolls came from the same eBay seller and in the same coin wrapper pattern. Here is a photo of one of the rolls before I opened it up: http://oi59.tinypic.com/nq1utg.jpgA sample size of 100 coins is still too small to come to any definitive conclusion on how common RDV-002 is on the 1970-D Roosevelt. And while my sample didn't produce as many RDV-002 as Wakhare's sample on a percentage basis, I also don't believe that this transitional variety is very rare -- on the 1970-D at least. What seems harder to find is a mint state 1970-D with RDV-002 and with a good strike.Check out Tanay Wakhare's article in ErrorScope for more on the 1969 and 1970 Roosevelt dime transitional varieties. I can't find the article published anywhere online. But you can get back issues of ErrorScope from CONECA.More: http://www.error-ref.com/transitional-reverse-1969--1970-dime-with-proof-re.htmlTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.