Sometimes is just better to rely on dumb luck!

Okay, so as a rule I do not pay too particularly much attention to points. This is especially true for my $5.00 Dimes for Kids set. I?m looking to add any circulation strike dime I can add to the set for $5.00 or under. And that was certainly the case with a dime I picked up this week. Usually, I am very pleased to pick up an MS65 or MS66 Roosevelt Dime for $5.00 or under to add to the set or add to the extras so I can give it away to a kid with a budding interest in collecting coins. (It?s an even bigger treat if the dime comes with a FT designation.) Well, dang, didn?t I score a coupe this week. I knew I had a number of bids on dimes outstanding on EBay this week so it was a pleasant surprise when my little red flag popped up and said I needed to pay for one item last Sunday. Yep, it was another dime for the $5.00 Dime for Kids set but this one was a 2005D MS69SMS. I already had a MS66SMS in the set which will now go to one of my kids in class and I even have a particular kid in mind. But anyway, not thinking I plugged the coin into my set and BAMM! I had to do a double take when a green 1323 pops up in the changes column. What 1323 points for less than $5.00, that?s about 3/10 of a cent per point. Needless to say after that little addition, I?m feeling like the cat that swallowed the canary!

My kids in class are starting to find all of those unloved pennies lying around and dumping them in the penny bowl on my desk again. This week was a particularly good week. I ended up with a couple of very nice MS 1960 pennies, a couple of common wheat cents, a few Irish Euro coins of various denominations and an absolutely brilliant 1960D small date with virtually no contact marks on it. I guess the penny would have to grade in the MS65/66 range. One young lady even started playing 20 questions with me about the pennies. I ended up bringing my 1819 N-1 Large Copper Cent to school so I could show what pennies started out as before they evolved into the small Lincoln Cents we have now. As it turned out, almost all of my kids were amazed by the old penny and it made its way around all of my classes.

Anyway, with the addition of the 2005D MS69SMS Roosevelt Dime I very close to pushing through 30000 total points. My graded sets are also closing in on the 200 individual coin count and I broke through the 2000 ranking. Heck, the $5.00 dime set has 18 coins in it already. I must say I quite pleased at how this little experiment is turning out. I have made a great start to showing that kids and collectors of very modest means can really put together a very nice set with a little bit of patience and perseverance. I think that speaks volumes for this hobby given the wild ride precious metals has had over the last year. To paraphrase a classic line, ?Yes, Virginia, there room in this hobby for the little guy.? You know, I love the hunt for all of the coins in my collection but I am just having some downright fun with these dimes. One of these days, I?d love to have enough time to visit some local coin dealers and see if I can wheel and deal for some of their mid-grade dimes they just can?t seem to sell. I also wish I could figure a way to actually get enough kids in school interested in collecting coins that we could actually start a club. Sadly, I sure don?t see that happening.

I am still woefully behind in my set maintenance. I really need to get off of my butt. But I sure don?t see any big blocks of free time coming up anytime soon. Here in North Carolina as the days get cooler the leaves are starting to change color which means there will be the annual leave removal from the yard endeavor and, of course. the State Fair is right around the corner. Then we have Thanksgiving and Christmas that will keep everything buzzing around here. I do have my fingers crossed though. There has to be some pockets of peace and quiet in there for my coins.

For now, I will leave you with a picture of my MONSTER dime! (Chuckle) I?m still amazed at the points that came with this thing.

Dennis