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TD Henson

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Journal Entries posted by TD Henson

  1. TD Henson
    Hello Collector's Society, been a little while since my last journal.
    It's been a time spent in turmoil after coming across some great silver Roosevelts. What I've been debating is the future of my collection, as I've lost most all interest in moderns for collecting. I still thoroughly enjoy the grading process and probably won't quite that part, but the clad dimes have lost their "luster" so to speak... The silver issues are quite a bit more intriguing and have a finite limit to the set, instead of hundreds of years of the same boring thing - the mint needs another Roosevelt, Teddy that is, in the White House. The later issues in the Roosevelt series, just like about every other modern issue have become so dogmatic that they are lifeless and boring (IMO).
    So, with that said I'll be divesting my clad Roosevelt's and most of my moderns in the coming weeks/months and adding to my silver Roosevelt's and perhaps another mid 20th Century collection - to paraphrase- "when coins were coins". Haven't decided what else I may pursue but could be Buffalo Nickels, V Nickels or SLQ's - who knows...
    This was a tough decision for me, but I believe the right one given some beautful coins that became available to me in the silver Roosies set.
    God Bless and Happy Collecting!
    Todd
    PS - Today's pic - 1949 D MS 67 * FT Obverse

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  2. TD Henson
    The positive side for my collection this week!
    Great addition to my silver Roosevelt's this week. This coin has basically 3 other equals - two of which are MS 67*FT and one which is also MS 67+FT and there are none better!
    Beautiful overall presence and had to be considered for the +* designation, which would have put it out of my price range for sure. I'm not a tone maven, but the toning on this coin absolutely enhances the beauty of this coin.
    Thanks Brian for making this coin possible for me!!!
    Todd

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  3. TD Henson
    Second part of what I'd hope would be a several part journal through certification.
    The 1832 Capped Bust Half Dime arrived yesterday and I didn't even have a loop on it before I was disappointed. When will I ever learn that pictures hide soooo much?
    First the coin has been lightly cleaned on the obv - as it is showing subtle hairlines, but enough to guarantee a details slab, which was enough to make this deal a loser.
    Then the surface condition of this coin is deplorable and something given the angulation and distance of the original picture was incredibly not visible. The seller sold the coin as an MS 64, which I figured had to be high, but I had hoped for at least a 62. Given the surface condition I doubt this coin would garner more than an MS 60. The surfaces are so bad that I almost have myself talked into this coin being a cast counterfeit...
    Bummer...
    The good news is I'm returning it to sender for a refund. I guess the morale of the story is if you are going to be stupid and buy raw coins without having them in hand always check the return policy.
    Today's pic the reverse of the 1832 half dime. Comments would be appreciated.
    Todd

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  4. TD Henson
    Bought a new coin for my Bust half dime set.
    Buying a new coin for my set doesn't seem like much of an event, at least until I tell you it is raw. Like most every one here, I've been burnt on cleaned/doctored coins in the past. So, am I a genius or a complete insufficiently_thoughtful_person to try this again?
    The coin - 1832 Capped Bust Half Dime
    As described by the seller an MS 64+++. I looked at the pics and really liked it. I contacted the seller and asked a few questions including a payment arrangement to allow a few extra days until payday. Seller agreed and I placed a $380 bid and won it for my maximum bid.
    The die marriage isn't rare, but the grade looks to be MS. I can't wait to get it here, verify that I believe it to be unaltered and then get it into NGC's hands.
    Anything less than MS 60/Details and I'll brand myself an insufficiently_thoughtful_person -MS 60-62 and I'm even. MS 63 or better and I'm probably just lucky. Although, I should have learned about buying from pictures, as it rarely ever works out in my favor...
    That's it until the coin arrives in February. I'll share a pic prior to sending it into NGC.
    Todd
    Today's Pic - The obverse of my latest graded Bust Half Dime addition - NGC XF 40 1829.

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  5. TD Henson

    Goodbye 2012!

    By TD Henson,

    I accomplished my goal! Have fun with this hobby and find new and interesting pursuits to keep me immersed and still finding pleasure and relaxtion with coin collecting. Mission accomplished.
    Overall I count 2012 to be a very successful one for my collection.
    * Started a Bust half dime collection - love them but have a hard time affording them in the grades I want...
    * Graded 89 coins in 2012 with some decent results - 1 - 69, 12 - 68's, 36 - 67's, 28 66's, 8 - 65's and few unc details.
    * Clad Roosevelt's are nearing completion, but am trying to put more of my own graded coins into this set, so I've slowed down adding coins.
    * December brought several top pop Silver Roosies on to my doorstep, which are currently on layaway and will bring the first plus grade coins to my set in 2013.
    * Started a couple of notes sets - first a $2 Legal Tender set, because they have always been my favorite paper money series and because I can pick them up fairly reasonably and a Custom Set of obsolete notes - once again cheap, but very artisitc and chocked full of history.
    My numismatic Christmas brought me Whitman's 100 Greatest US Coins by Jeff Garrett - interesting and fascinating read with great pictures! Also, received an Amazon gift card that will surely turn into another book for my library...
     
    Can't wait to see what 2013 brings for my collection!
    Happy New Year to you all and good luck to you all with the upcoming awards.
    Todd
    Today's pic - the reverse of my MS 64 1833 Capped Bust Half Dime - perhaps my favorite coin in my collection. Although it's also probably tied for 1st with about 100 others...

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  6. TD Henson

    My first MS 69!

    By TD Henson,

    Kind of sounds like a baby announcement and I guess in a way it is...
    Cracked the MS 69 plateau for the first time. I go through lots of OBW rolls and mint sets looking for modern rarities to send in to NGC. A semi-cheap way to stay engaged with the hobby on a daily basis and have lots of fun grading coins, as I really enjoy the challenge of finding, self grading and then submitting coins for verification of my grading skills or lack thereof...
    I generally don't buy the SMS sets, but recently, on Ebay, had an opportunity to get in a few 05-06 sets at a modest price and decided why not? I'd like to get rid of a few of my PCGS MS 69 FT Roosevelts so I'll give it a shot. Well, nothing spoke to me but a Lincoln Cent. I set it aside and went back to it and it was still speaking loudly to me! I'm not really a Lincoln collector but figured this coin was an MS 69 and behold NGC agreed.
    Minor victory, as this coin is anything but rare, but it is an MS 69 and it gives me the encouragement to perhaps buy a few other SMS sets.
    Hope you all have a great day!
    Todd

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  7. TD Henson
    It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed since the last registry awards.
    I wish you all lots of luck during the upcoming judging for this year's top accomplishments. One day perhaps I'll be in position to grab an award for a top set, I'm slowly working on my Roosevelt dime collections. The top slots in this set have quite a bit more expendable income than I have for coins. So, I have to be creative and work hard at getting top coins for my sets. Here's a big thank you to all that have helped me in the past year.
    We, collectively, lost a great friend and collector when Todd Peters passed away last month. I still mourn the loss of a good friend that I could always talk coins.
    I've been fairly successful adding some top grade/top pop Roosevelt dimes through my own submissions in the past year. I buy lots of raw dimes and send some of the very best to NGC and find that about 1 in 500 overall make the grade to set aside for further review and about 50-60% of these ultimately get culled out on the 2nd or 3rd run through before submission. I think my results were decent with 17 MS 67 FT, 2 MS 68's (1976-D & 2005) and 10 MS 68 FT coins so far this year. Eight of the MS 68 FT coins have become residents in my permanent collection, with the other two being doubles that have been sold.
    I'm looking forward to what the next year brings for me and my collection. I have a 10 coin submission at NGC right now, which surprise are mostly Roosie's which will hopefully add to my overall totals.
    Again good luck to you all as this year's awards wind down in the next 24 hours...
    Todd
    PS - Today's pic one of two 2004-P MS 68 FT dimes I was blessed with finding this year.

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  8. TD Henson
    Several years ago I started a set in the PCGS registry to see what all the hype was about...
    Turns out it was not worth the effort.
    Recently, I sold one of my PCGS dimes, after converting my own raw dime into the same NGC coin. Honestly, I forgot I even built the set until the buyer contacted me to release it from my PCGS set.
    Wow! It had been so long since I created the login and set that my account was locked out from inactivity and/or my poor feable brain could not remember the email/password combination. The folks at PCGS were very helpful in trying to unlock my account and I received my newly restored credentials quick.
    However, it only took about 30 seconds to remember why I abandoned the PCGS registry for good. The site is less than intuitive, not very user friendly and quite frankly boring. No offense to you PCGS fans, but I think NGC has done a far superior job building a collector friendly environment.
    Heres to NGC for building and maintaining a very customer-centric application for the betterment of the hobby.
    Happy Collecting!
    Todd
    PS - Pic of the day - 1975 MS 66 FT Roosevelt recently added to my set

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  9. TD Henson

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    By TD Henson,

    It's a season of giving thanks for all we have!
    Today I reflect back on all the things I'm thankful for in life.
    1 - Knowing Jesus as my personal saviour and friend.
    2 - A loving wife who puts up with my coin eccentrices...
    3 - A good job that allows me the opportunity to be active in this hobby
    4 - NGC and all my friends here! What an excellent way to share!
    5 - Life itself!
    May you all be thankful for everything today and enjoy time with family and friends today. Eat lots of turkey, watch a little football and maybe do some shopping tomorrow(tonight for the diehards) to usher in the Christmas season.
    Happy Thanksgiving to all!
    Todd
    Today's pic - something else I'm thankful for - the obverse of my latest addition to my Clad Roosevelt Dimes - 1972 MS 66 FT

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  10. TD Henson

    Local Coin Show Today!

    By TD Henson,

    Ebay is great, but there's nothing like talking coins during a show.
    Stories are everywhere and it's fun sometimes to listen to the "tall" tales being told. I think it's just a facet of the hobby to make our coin exploits bigger, better and bolder than the other guy. Talking coins with coin guys and gals is a fun and very relaxing activity. I enjoy perusing the hunderds of thousands of listings on the internet, but it's just not quite the same as talking coins, looking at them and agnozing over my purchases.
    I didn't buy much today, but the fun was immeasurable. I did buy a couple of coins for my Dansco 7070 Type set album - I'm about 35% complete on this one and really save this one as a fun interlude at coin shows. I find that once I've moved over to certified coins, they are hard to buy at shows, as I either can't find what I want or the price just isn't right.
    I'll part with one interesting conversation I overheard today between a dealer and a customer. The customer asked why he didn't have more PCGS coins. The dealer answered that he was an authorized dealer for both and his customers wanted NGC over PCGS slabs and that he felt NGC slabs garnered a premium. I don't see the premium he was talking about, but with 3 brick and mortar stores in my general vacinity I would tend to trust his judgement. I see different results, but perhaps here in SC there is a price inversion and preference toward NGC. I know I've had that preference for quite some time.
    Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
    Todd
    Today's Picture - 1938 D Jefferson Nickel - bought it for the 7070 album, but it's so nice that I might submit this one for grading...

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  11. TD Henson
    This one has been eluding me for a couple of years now...
    Year: 1984 D
    Grade: MS 67 FT
    NGC Pop: 7/1
    Purchased: Ebay - Datentype
    Cost:$103.50
    A tough coin to be had in FT. I've probably looked at 150 examples from mint sets and have only seen one or two coins that might make full torch. Both coins were low grade junkers that I wouldn't waste the time submitting.
    I've only seen this coin sell at auction a couple of times and I have to tell on myself that I was too stupid to bid on the last one. I have this stigma about placing early bids on Teletrade, because I always seem to win at my maximum bid, so I wait and like to bid real time (thinking I'm getting a better deal). Well, stupid me, I forgot about this auction and the coin sold for about $25. Obviously, no one else saw it or remembered it either.
    So, when this coin came on ebay I bid early and high - daring someone to knock me off - no one did and the auction ended about $50 below my maximum, making me a happy camper. Although a little queasy since I let one get away cheap or did I, because had I placed a $150 bid on Teletrade I feel certain I would have paid $150 + shipping. The Datentype coin was all in at $103.50.
    Well now I had another issue, as I thought this coin was grossly underrated by NGC in the registry - still don't understand the point system. So, I swagger over to the NGC website and hit the "Request Score Correction" button and lay out a beautiful case for the 84 D Roosie. I compared it to the 89-D issue that has a pop of 38/13/1, 6x in 67 FT, 18x in 68 FT and 100% more in 69 FT, further building my case for the below average number of total FT specimens and the rather paltry 489 points this coin scores is incongruous to the rest of the set. NGC is great about this sort of thing and I quickly get an email stating this situation was under review.
    The result - a 5 point increase for the 84-D and 198 point incresae for the 89-D. As Electric Peak said last week - I just had to laugh... I talked my way into increasing the 89-D with my eloquent case to increase the 84-D. Not that it really matters anyway, but it was fun trying!!
    Have a great week!
    Todd
    Today's pic - the reverse of the 84-D

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  12. TD Henson
    A battle that has raged for many years.
    I've always wondered about this and read many an article about the compelling benefits of swishing your coins. Well, in an accident, I may have finally resolved this issue, at least in my mind.
    I've never really been an advocate of cleaning coins. A few years back I bought a jar at a coin show, just out of curiousity. I had some late 60's mint set coins that looked horrible due to cloudy and just plain ugly surfaces. So, I took it home dipped them, rinsed them, patted them dry and on a few re-dipped, rinsed and very carefully dried them. The results were astounding, but I still wasn't sold as to what overall damage this had done to the skin of the metal.
    I put the jar in my coin drawer and honestly forgot about it until today, while cleaning out the drawer I found it. I removed the jar and found that a common VG 1934 lincoln cent had fallen in the drawer next to the cleaner. I guess it had leaked a little around the seal during the 1000's of times this supply drawer has been opened and closed, so it ended up in a little pool of cleaner for how long I'm not sure...
    Check out the collateral damage. Poor Abe Lincoln. Glad it wasn't worth more than the copper!!
    Todd

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  13. TD Henson
    Is it really what it's cracked up to be?
    I find it curious that when I have to go to the post office to pick up my return packages from NGC they have a hard time finding it in 1 out of 3 cases.
    My local PO is fairly large, but the "secure" area for registered mail is within sight of the counter. Today I waited 25 minutes for them to find my NGC box... I started getting angry when they started to scour the entire back room for the package and they became a little miffed when I pointed out that the RE on the tracking number means registered, which also means it should always be under lock and key. I watched the supervisor on duty go in and out of the "secure area" and then appear from no where with the package after 25 minutes. Obviously, it wasn't where it was supposed to be even though they wouldn't own up to it...
    Anyone else experiencing something similar with registered mail? I really have to wonder just how secure it is, although they haven't lost one of them yet. Glad I'm not superstitious, as I would have just jinxed myself...
    The bad news is they couldn't find my insured package that I have to sign for, so I'm hoping the carrier delivered that one at home today.
    I find that I have better success and far superior service with my home delivery carrier handling either inbound or outbound packages. Going to the post office is just a hassle and they don't have a clue what customer service means anymore.
    End of rant.
    Todd
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  14. TD Henson
    New set just started.
    I've been wanting to get into a classic set since the first of this year and as a goal for the year I wanted to start a Capped Bust Half Dime set. I choose the half dime, because of it's rather small size in the basic set only to realize that there are 123 die marriages or uniquely different coins. So much for a small set...
    I've been looking for an opportunity to get into this set with a nice coin. I took the opportunity that arose in Sunday's Teletrade auction. I placed a pre-bid of $900 on an 1833 NGC MS 64, knowing it probably wouldn't get it done, but just curious to see where the auction would end.
    The auction opened up at 3 PM with a reserve of $1200. That's really more than I wanted to spend and it puts the total price very close to NMV, but then again this is an MS graded 180 year old coin. I reviewed the photos in detail, like the bright, lusterous appearance of this coin. I studied the dies and believe this to be an LM-9, not particularly rare, but then again with a mintage of 1.37 M coins these aren't exactly dime a dozen either.
    I spent about 2 hours deliberating about this coin and finally decided to bid the reserve of $1200 and walk away. Checked in Sunday night at 10:30 and found that I was the only bidder, add the $180 buyer's fee (juice as Electric Peak calls it) and voila a new set is born.
    Can't wait to get this little beauty in my hands! I've attached the Teletrade obverse picture for your viewing pleasure.
    Todd

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  15. TD Henson
    Generally, the two don't really go together. The few coins I see for sale are generally priced way above current selling trends and/or are priced like every coin is a "rare" coin.
    I can't help but look when I see coins, medals, tokens and just about anything of and/or related to coins. Sometimes I get lucky and find something I can actually buy, but usually I just pass.
    I usually always look at booksellers and 99 times out of 100 strike out here too... Today was slightly different - I found two sellers in the same shop with a few coin books each and almost bought 2 of them...
    The first book a review of US Commemrative coins written by Arlie Slabaugh and published in 1962 was a unique hardcovered book published on glossy paper. I loved the subject and price, but was a little "skeered", as we say in the South. The book had some mildew staining all over the cover and while the pages were in great shape I was a little worried about the cover. I passed on this one.
    The second book was a Collectors Series book published by Wayte Raymond in the early sixties. This one is more of a booklet and focused on early Large Cents and was basically a study on die marriages. This one was in good shape and had a stamp from a local Charleston coin shop from the sixties. The seller wanted $20, which I thought was a little steep for a 20 page booklet. Perhaps I'm wrong on this one, if for no other reason than it was published by Wayte Raymond. I also thought perhaps that I could find it for less money on eBay - a foolish thought at times...
    I'm now kind of wishing I had bought the Large Cent book. Anyone out there have experience with Wayte Raymond Collectors series books? They have a sort of chocolate brown heavyweight paper cover, glossy pages with pictures and a fairly simple. Sort of reminds me of a much smaller version of the ANA magazine from the first half of the 20th century. Is $20 fair for one of these? I'd appreciate any feedback any of you might have.
    One last thing in the same shop that caught my eye. I usually ignore medals but a Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey circus medal celebrating their 100th anniversary in 1970 was quite interesting. It looked to be a copper or bronze issue with the original card when issued. It was slightly over priced as there are currently two on eBay for $15 - but this example had some rather unique toning that enhanced the beauty of the obverse.
    Today's pic the reverse of my Washington Carver Commem, as an homage to the Arlie Slabaugh book I wanted...

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  16. TD Henson
    A rarity in the Roosevelt variety series.
    Ever since I had a top pop MS 66 FS-802 (VP-002) dime variety graded, I was envious over anyone that would have a FT example of this coin.
    1970 - D
    DDR FS-802 VP-002 variety
    NGC Grade - MS 65 FT
    Purchase Price - $99.99 delivered.
    This is a very nice lusterous example with an MS 66 obverse but a somewhat marked up reverse that pulls the grade down to MS 65. The FT designation is marginal by my standard and what I might would lable a 7/8 torch. It's weak to the left and right of the lower bands, but does basically make the grade.
    The DDR 1970-D isn't particularly rare, as I've found half a dozen examples this year alone, but the average grades are MS 63-64 with no torch, in fact 50% of them don't have any separation of the lower bands. This example is well above the norm and to be couple with the DDR is all the more rare.
    I stumbled upon this coin last week on Ebay by accident. I've been contemplating starting a set that would be all 1970 coins (birth year) from all over the world. The idea would be to find as many denominations, compositions and themes as possible. So, I type in a recent search for me on Ebay "NGC 1970" and hit search. The results come back and I switch over to "newly listed" to see what's been added. The top coin in the search came back with this description -1970 Dime D DDR 10C VP-002 MS 65 FT NGC Graded Collectors Coin Coins. The FT part caught my attention immediately! I went to the NGC website and checked the cert - it checked out - and then went to the pop report knowing it was rare, but not realizing it is the only FT in the population for any of the DDR 1970-D's...
    Now the story - the seller claims to have found it in the pocket of a jacket from a swap meet. What the heck? How could this coin have ended with that fate?!? I look at the seller's other listing and guess what it's all clothes. I think the story is true. The slab is in great shape, meaning the owner took care of it, as the slab is the last generation, so it's probably at least 18 months old. So how could it have ended up with the fate that it did. I knew immediately that I had to "rescue" this coin. I guess I've just invented a new type of "rescue" - perhaps I'll have to put together a television commercial about adopting abused, forgotten and neglected slabs!!!
    This coin now becomes a very welcome addition to my Roosevelt's with Varieties set with a score of 974 points and the only one certified in FT. MAkes me a happy camper!!

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  17. TD Henson
    Eagles-R-it started a thought I just can't put aside.
    I tend to agree that the new circulation coins are dull, flat and lifeless. The quality has a lot to be desired, as we are supremely focused on how to make a billion coins a month. Even the collector coins are fraught with stories of horrendous striked, contact marks and just plain junk. What it must have been like to live in an era when you could have searched through your coins and looked at Indian Cents, Buffalo Nickels, Mercury Dimes, Standing Liberty Quarters and Walkers! Not to mention going to the bank and getting dollar coins that would have been Peace or Morgans!!
    We seem to have fallen asleep and feel comfortable using the same old tired designs for 200 years...
    Enough of the rant.
    The real reason for this post was Gasparro's vision for the small dollar coin in 1977. Now that is a coin I would still be collecting today! If your not familiar with this concept check out the attached link.
    http://www.smalldollars.com/dollar/page04.html
    Waiting on the next great coin design...
    Todd
    Today's pic - I do like the reverse of the Roosevelt dime, but I also believe it's time for a change...

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  18. TD Henson
    A bit more information.
    A few of you have expressed an interest in seeing the entire coin, so I've included images of the entire Obv/Rev of this 2012 P Roosevelt Dime. I appreciate the responses so far.

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  19. TD Henson

    Guess the Grade

    By TD Henson,

    Need some help figuring this one out...
    I'll explain more in a subsequent post. Assume that the fields are clean with no distracting contact marks and the rims of the coin are likewise.
    Just for clarity purposes I'll point out two things - first their is what I would deem to be a heavy contact mark on the torch at about one third of the way up the torch from the bottom and there are two contact marks in the hair that glare sort of washes out.
    What grade do you think NGC would assign to this dime. I'm very curious what you all think and as I stated earlier I'll explain why later.
    Thanks!
    Todd

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  20. TD Henson
    I find that I don't buy much these days...
    Interesting how things change. Learning to grade, spot cleaned coins and generally a lack of interest in common grade coins and an aversion to overpay for coins means that I don't get to buy much at coin shows... The grading issue is my biggest challenge as I've learned to have the finest in champagne taste, if you know what I mean.
    I always go with the intent of finding that next great gem for my Roosevelt dime - ex mint set, OBW roll or dealer stock, but usually what I end up finding are dogs not worth an old blue Whitman thumb buster. So, I've given up this pursuit lately and in fact I rarely even look at mint sets anymore.
    What I've decided to do, so that coin shows make sense for me is to start a Dansco US Type album with an optimal grade in the XF-AU range - with F-VF acceptable for the oldest coins and BU for the moderns. I spent quite a bit of time perusing dealer stock, talking to dealers/collectors and viewing some phenomenal coins! Some had phenomenal prices too, I might add.
    After a couple of hours of deliberation I decided to stick with a dealer I knew I could trust and pick out a few coins to take home - budget is limited right now coming off a few very large purchases. I choose a really nicely toned AU 1893 Columbian Exposition Commemm to fill one of four slots in the book, a really nice 1854 with Arrows Seated Quarter in XF-40 to 45 with a similar gun metal toning as the Columbian half and a 1910 Liberty V Nickel in AU-55 or so with lots of retained luster. The group set me back $120 - which I figure to be a decent deal and they look great in the Type Set album! Today's picture is the obverse of the V Nickel.
    Also looked at a disturbing display of counterfeit slabs that would have been worth in excess of $50K had they been real. Most were early silver dollars and most had PCGS numbers that were valid for the corresponding coin - Distrubing to say the least...I was also amazed at raw counterfeits in a similar display including some "1900" Silver eagles. I had to get away from this display, as it was just infuriating me to no end.
    No way around it - coin shows are just plain fun1!!
    Todd

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  21. TD Henson
    Just returned after NCS conservation.
    Year: 1968
    Grade: MS 65
    Registry Points: 72
    NGC Pop: 5/2
    Purchase Price: Self Made
    Seems a paltry amount of points for a coin that only has ten graded examples at NGC. In all of my mint set searching I've found about a dozen 1970 DDR and a couple 1969 D/D coins, but this is the lone example of the 1968 DDO coin I've found. I've probably searched well over 150 mint sets to find this lone single coin. With only 2 coins graded higher and only 10 total coins I believe the rarity of this coin is greater than presently thought and at some point may be more valuable.
    This coin has found a good home in my Roosevelt Dimes with Varities set.
    I sent it to NCS first to clean up some haze and like always very happy with the results. It costs more but makes all the differnce in luster and eye appeal.
    Today's picture is a close up of the date and designer's intitials which all show strong doubling. The "8" in the date on this coin looks just like the 8 in the coin explorer photograph leading me to believe the sort of flat sort of smashed appearance of the 8 is from the die.
    Enjoy!
    Todd

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  22. TD Henson
    Superb coin with great luster!
    Year: 1972 D
    Grade: MS 67 FT
    Registry Points: 1,303
    NGC Pop: Top Pop 8/0
    Purchase Price: Self Made
    These early clad Roosevelts are difficult to find fully struck and even more so to find with decent luster. I come across many coins that have wonderful luster and/or toning, but generally speaking that's the end of the line as the quality usually isn't up to par.
    This coin was the exception, after removing it from an original mint set I was impressed with the luster and subtle steel blue/rose colored hues across the entire obverse. Closer inspection on the obverse proved that the coin was of decent grade. Imagine my complete surprise when I flipped it over and found the reverse to be just as nice and that the coin was full struck and indeed a full torch.
    Top Pop at NGC with just 8 total coins graded for the grade and FT status. Replaces another NGC example, in my set, that was purchased through Teletrade.
    Have a great day!
    Todd
    PS - the picture isn't crooked, but rather the die is slightly rotated on this example as well!

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  23. TD Henson
    21 Coin Salute!!!
    Overall very happy, especially with the early clad FT dimes! I'll chronicle a few of these in seperate posts like 1972-D MS 67 FT, 1989-P MS 68 FT and my second 1973 Jefferson in MS 66 5FS this year. Technically, I believe this coin to be superior than the one I submitted a couple of months ago. The quarters were a bit disappointing, all though the 94-P is a tough one in 66 and higher grades. The 1980 dimes are a sore subject with me - I can't seem to get above a 66 with these things... Also a little disappointed with one of the 87-D Roosies - as I thought it had a chance at FT, if it would have been PCGS I'm sure it would have been graded MS 67 FB... NGC is tough on FT dimes!!
    001 1968 D 10C MS 67 FT
    002 1969 D 10C MS 67
    003 1972 D 10C MS 67 FT
    004 1973 5C MS 66 5FS
    005 1973 D 10C MS 66 FT
    006 1974 D 10C MS 66 FT
    007 1977 D 10C MS 65 FT
    008 1980 D 10C MS 66
    009 1980 D 10C MS 66
    010 1980 D 10C MS 66
    011 1987 D 10C MS 67
    012 1987 D 10C MS 67
    013 1988 D 10C MS 67 FT
    014 1989 P 10C MS 68 FT
    015 1992 P 5C MS 66 6FS
    016 1994 P 25C MS 66
    017 1995 D 10C MS 67
    018 1996 D 25C MS 66
    019 2000 P 10C MS 67 FT
    020 2004 D 10C MS 67 FT PL
    021 2004 D 10C MS 68 FT
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  24. TD Henson
    A new addition to my "Busted" my budget on Half Dimes collection.
    Hated to see my MS 64 1833 half dime sitting all alone in this short set, but at the same time it was the most expensive coin I've ever bought. So, my budget was thin, hence the name of the set.
    Came across this one on Ebay and liked the look of it and quite frankly wanted to be able to do more research and study on die marriages. I need coins to be able to work with them and make assessments on marriages.
    Date - 1836
    Capped Bust Half Dime
    Mintage - 1,900,000
    Variety - LM-4
    Rarity - R2 - Common
    This one is below my optimal collecting grade, but a welcome 2nd coin for this set. I really would like to keep this set above AU-55, but maybe sometime I'll start the 123 coin "variety" set with all the die marriages from this short 9 year run series.
    Waiting on my latest coins to be graded, they are scheduled for grading now, so maybe I'll get grades by the end of the week.
    Todd
    PS - Today's picture is of the 1836 Bust Half Dime Reverse.

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  25. TD Henson
    Went on vacation last week and put the mail on hold and then came home today to find 6 coin packages awaiting me!!!
    Great day for my collection - four packages with raw coins taking their place in the staging line for review and possible submissions if their quality is good.
    The fifth package contained a 1998 P Roosevelt dime - MS 68 FT - from Datentype. Replaces an MS 67 FT coin in my collection - so a nice upgrade to the set.
    The last package was the one I have been waiting on from Teletrade. My first addition to my "Busted" my Budget on Half Dimes collection of Capped Bust Half Dimes. This coin was more than I really wanted to spend, but now that I have it in hand it was worth every penny! I can't believe the retained luster in this coin. Took a few pictures this evening and I'll share the reverse of this coin.
    Amazing how you can feel so differently about some coins. I think Roosevelt dimes in MS 64 are just plain ugly, but yet this coin I perceive to be gorgeous...
    Have a great evening! I know I am!!!!
    Todd

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