Why all the points?

I've often wondered about the point structure on the Roosevelt dimes and considering a recent post about lowering these points, I thought it might be time to interject, as I too thought that they were a bit out of touch.

However, all you have to do is submit a few of these diminuitive coins for grading and I think most will find out just how tough this series can be on the collector.

First and foremost it's easy to get caught up in luster and ignore a few obvious faults a coin may have and the Roosie is no exception. I recently sent a drop dead gorgeous example of the 1948 with full torch. I was absolutely sure that the coin was a 67 FT. WRONG! The coin came back MS 66 FT - not bad, but not what I wanted... I grumbled and growled and hypothesized that NGC penalized me for my lowly one coin submission, but alas that was all unfounded! When I had the coin back in hand I reviewed with a 10x loupe every crevice of the coin and found a slight scuff from the reeded edge of another coin right on the cheek - it's very minor, but has to be the reason for the grade. Bottom line I now agree and have learned yet another lesson about the art of grading.

The FT status is another problem - 1 in 500 coins I look at in mint sets, including SMS sets, is probably FT worthy.

So, now you have two major problems in getting a coin to grade MS 67 FT or higher. It must be mark free and absolutely beautiful and on the other hand it almost has to be a perfect strike. A combination that will drive you batty...

I've been honing my skills with dimes and thought that all that I've submitted would have been 66 or higher caliber - here are my results.

1948 MS 66 FT

1995 D MS 66

1995 D MS 67

1995 D MS 64

1995 MS 67

1981 D MS 64 FT

I've learned alot about what not to do through these submissions and gained a new found respect for this series, as the MS 67 FT is a truly tough coin to find!

Hope you enjoyed my take on the Roosevelt dime and I'll tell you all that I'm even more determined to figure out the combination to the MS 67 FT even if I have to submit 50 dimes to get there...

I'm hooked now, as these coins are beautiful in this state of preservation!

Good luck to everyone in pursuit of this magnificent hobby!

Todd