I want to try and collect a set of some small coins.(something I can afford) So I was thinking Dimes would be cool, starting with pre 64's. I don't know much about them, so I have a few questions. What was on them before Roosevelt? What are some key dates? Is there a book or guide to collecting dimes? And how do I organize them? Is there like an album or something with slots to fill that I can buy?
Roosevelt Dimes started in 1946 and continue to date. Before Roosevelt there was the Liberty Head or "Mercury" Dime. Issued from 1916 to 1945 in .9000 silver (Actual Silver Weight is 0.0724o oz). The "STOPPER" in this set has to be the 1916D with a mintage of only 264,000. A RED BOOK will provide you with basic information about dates, mintages, mintmarks and varieties. There are albums for these and you can arrange them by date, date and mintmark or any way you think best displays the coins.
May I also recommend Jefferson Nickels . . . . which is the only series where you can get most of the coins going back to the start (1938) in pocket change.
An excellent suggestion! Even in mid-Mint State Jefferson Nickels are not budget busters if you avoid the errors/varieties.
Winged Liberty dimes, commonly known as "Mercury" dimes, were issued before the Roosevelt series. The Roosevelt series is 1946-present. Mercury dimes were issued from 1916-1945. Barber dimes came before that, and were issued from 1892 until 1916. The most difficult non-proof date is the 1996-W, which can only be found in Mint sets of that year. The lowest mintage business strikes are the 1949-S, along the with 1955 P, D, and S. Even these, though, are not difficult to obtain. I don't know about reference books. Whitman probably has a book on the series. You can purchase a Whitman album, if you like. I would recommend this if you're just starting out, and if you're collecting circulated examples. For uncirculated examples you may want something more advanced; either a nicer album, or a Capital holder. You can also use 2x2 holders.
My son collects dimes, even to the present years. They look good as a set although the dead presidents aren't my favorites. Really, Mercs are generally affordable as well. http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/roosevelt.html Ruben
There is an antique store close to my home, and the guy that runs the place has huge bags of pre 64 dimes, half's, and dollars. He is selling them for 13 times face value. Is that a good deal? Silver is at 13.66, but those are only 90% silver right? If I can go through them and pick out the ones I want, I figured that would be a good start to my dime set.
Right, 90%. As of today, melt value is just under 10 times face value. (So, to a semi-newbie like me, 13-times seems reasonable). Instead of doing the math, btw, to get melt values, I go to coinflation.com
That seems just a tad high, but not too bad. You should be able to get most dates for $1 - $1.25. You wouldn't be getting scammed for paying $1.30 each.
