I recently found a couple of dimes in my pocket change. I picked these up in different locations but they appear similar in their deterioration. I figured there are lots out there of other coins out there that are late die state and I would love to see what you've found or purchased. Please share what you have!
Okay, this might seem like a dumb question but I have to ask. What do you mean by "late die state?" I ask because you show a 2015-P dime which is not old and all the rest of the post do show old coins. Please bear with me if it is a dumb question but if I want to learn more I have to ask to know more.
The age of the coin has nothing to do with die state. All that matters is the number of coins minted using a specific die set. Dies go though a progression: Early (EDS), Middle (MDS) and Late (LDS), as they're used. Some even use Very Early (VEDS) and Very Late (VLDS).
BadThad: Thanks for your reply. I will be doing more research on this. I now have an idea of what it means. Thanks again.
The 1811/09 Capped Bust Dimes show very good and dramatic examples of die progressions. Capped Bust Dimes were first minted in 1809. Rather than cutting new dies for the next year of dime production, 1811, the mint opted instead for using a leftover 1809 die, and modify the date. The digits 11 were thus punched over 09 resulting in the well known 1811/09 overdate. All 1811 dimes are overdates. The reverse die, however, soon began to deteriorate. In its most advanced state, the reverses show multiple cracks extending all over the reverse. 1811/09 dimes showing no breaks are reported to be very rare. The majority of the 1811/09 dimes still extant show the extensive network of cracks. Here are 3 examples from my collection showing the die wear progression (sorry for the very poor last picture which shows all 3 coins).
