I've collected Merc Dimes for many yrs., I have quite a few to say the least. When updating my coin software the other day I noticed that there's only one that I dont have and thats the common date 1939s. I cant get a grip on how this common date coin never showed up in my collection. Well I put a low ball bid on 2 auctions the other day and while I slept thru them, I won them both,there were no other bidders. Well now I have a complete collection.
I actually completed my Merc set about 2 years ago, but the grade didn't matter. My 16D looks horrible, but it's a 16D. I've spent the last 2 years trying to upgrade the condition of the various coins. For the longest time I've had everything after 1935 in at least MS-63 (with split bands, preferably), except for 1944. I just couldn't find one. It was really wierd. I finally found a good one when I stopped in a coin shop while on vacation.
There were 8 coins in a batch, there were 2 -39s, but I took a picture of one of the other coins that came in the batch instead, it's a pretty nice one,39d. Can't photo the whole collection as I dont keep them in folders.
Looks like we are on the same path, thats exactly what I'm doing and I also want 10 of every yr. & mint, and any over 10 is being sold to buy rare dates. Have sold 4 rolls of excess already. I'd guess my 16d is in worse shape than yours, I never noticed until recently that it was a 'D'. I need to get something more powerful to view coins with.
Excuse me for asking but, what possible use could you have for 10 sets of Mercury Dimes? I had three complete sets and thought that was excessive.:kewl:
All I am lacking is a 16-D. I have seen several auctions for very poor ones, but I always have my doubts if they are real. Anything very readable is out of my price range. Wish I had a blue cardboard circle with 'RARE' on it for my old sliding pane Whitman. Maybe someday I'll hit the lottery, no rich unknown uncles. I am still proud of my complete Franklin set. Hoping cleaned coins regain popularity.
I've seen more 1916-D's than I have 1909-S VDB's...and I've only ever seen one that I liked...and it was VG10....I think if I ever buy the 16-D I'm going to have to get it in VG+...the AG/G that are all around here just don't ring my bell Speedy
I just set 10 of each as a target, Mercs are my favorite coin and always have been, maybe I'm just greedy. I'm about a third of the way to my goal. I know mercs better than any other coin, I find that for me they are easy to grade and I know when I'm getting a good price. I'm moving money from the stock market into coins. I got totally turned off by all the crooks coming out of the woodwork in the stock market, and I still have"nt seen any Enron crooks behind bars. I made a good amount of money in the market but they will never see me again until they clean up the crooks. Personally I think they should execute a few of them to sort of set the pace. I never owned any Enron but when I think of all the people who were wiped out by these crooks I go off the deep end. They are probably on their yachts sucking martinis and laughing at the judicial system.
Good luck breeze, you have choosen a great coin to work on. No matter how many you have they are always very nice looking. Even the old beat up ones.:thumb:
Yes, I love the mercury dimes myself and have just started to collect them to diversify from my silver dollar fetish. I don't know that I can look at the concept of having 10 sets of them yet though! I'll be happy enough with one set but I'm extremely far from goal as I have just acquired my first 5!
Wait until you pick up a MS65 or better. thats one piece of work. Lately I've been buying the best condition mercs that I can find, any year. When I look at some of them I just say Whow! If you look hard you can pick up really nice MS mercs very cheap on a good day! Morgans were my previous obsession but I have enough of them now.
I am humbled. Ahhh - to make a post like the previous someday.... Kudos to the more fortunate collectors here, You have my envy and respect.
Fortunate? No! When I started out in the cruel world we were so poor we could not afford to even go window shopping! It's not that hard to garner a good collection, just do your homework and make smart purchases. When I was in my 20's I was willing to and did spend a full weeks paycheck on a single coin many times, and over the years it has paid off. But if you pay to much you'll never recoup your investment.
If you're worried about authenticity... I hate to suggest it but TPG's (PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ACCGS, ICG, etc) perform a valuable service by verifying the authenticity of a coin & backing it up. If you get a slabbed coin from a reputable service - and the rarer the more this is true - you are almost guaranteed authenticity.
