Hi... does anyone know WHY they changed the dies in 1964 on the dimes...I am doing research and am having a hard times with the why. From a point to a blunt squared off tail...WHY?
WHY?... no really most die changes are because of coins not striking up all the way so a design modification is started...or the design was spreading away from the center due to overuse of the master hub...by why on 1964 dimes and why at that time?...and at what time? I see it was early in the year....that is why the pointed 9's are "rarer" although not rare...more like medium rare ...but when...February....April...May..January?does anyone know these answers?
This is only a guess as to why, pointed corners on a die are more prone to fatigue failure than square or rounded edges. They may have noticed die chips occurring and modified the design. As far as when, I have no clue, and 1964 dimes were minted well after 1964.
The primary thrust of my collecting is exactly this type of issue. I am trying to get a complete set of dimes with all of the possible die "styles". I have never been able to get a good handle on it, but have wondered whether the 1964 issue could be analogous to the 64-D Type C quarters where a die meant for the new clad coinage got into the mix for the 1964-dated mintage, but on a larger scale. My 1963s have pointed 9's and my 1965 SMS has a square 9. BTW, If you really want to get into the minutia of dimes, the 61's - 64's also come with and without a die (more likely hub) gouge on the W in In God We Trust. Further, even among the 1964's, there are several different mint-mark styles, and in many cases, both the blunt or pointed 9 dimes can be found with one than one mint-mark style. As near as I can tell, there are at least 15 possible mint/9-style/die-gouge/mint-mark-style combinations for 1964 alone. Add in the 61's-63's with and without the die-gouge and there are at least 33 possible combinations for 61-64 dimes. Also, if you like the die "styles" there also are multiple obverse dies for 1946 and 1958, multiple reverse dies 68-70, and multiple mint-mark styles for 46, 47, 52, 53, 74, 79, and 81.