PREFACE
This text began as an effort to expand and organize my personal collection of 1946 through 1964-D Roosevelt dimes. The Roosevelt dime collection was the first "silver" set that I collected in uncirculated grades and has remained one of my favorite collections to date. The reasons are many, but variety and affordability have undoubtedly had a strong influence in defining this position.
My original set of Roosevelt dimes contained one coin from each mint for each year. This set was eventually expanded to include all of the proof issues from 1950 through 1964.
Numismatic fate struck one day as I happened upon a copy of Walter Breen's encyclopedia of US coins. Unable to stifle my curiosity, I opened up the book. It was here that I began to learn about things that were odd and certainly unknown to me at the time. Some of these items were referred to by Breen as varieties and errors. In my reading I also learned that many of these varieties and errors could be found in the Roosevelt dime series. Unable to dismiss this revelation as boring or trivial, I found that I now had several other collectable options available for the Roosevelt series. At the time, I rationalized the inclusion of these new coins to the Roosevelt collection as easily as I accepted the notion that the 1979-S proof Type I and Type II coins belonged as separate items in other collections because different "S" punches were used to add the mintmarks to the dies which produced those coins. Ignorant of the long term implications, I forged ahead, fully determined that my Roosevelt collection would be assembled and complete according to Walter Breen's coin encyclopedia. I soon found, however, that in the years since Breen published his work, many other notable varieties of Roosevelt dimes had been discovered, that Breen did not include all that were known in his text, and that I had discovered many unreported or unpublished varieties and errors.
Enticed by the trickery and encouragement of several "associates”, I eventually began to photograph the examples I had collected and the basics of this text began to slowly evolve. What follows is that effort to date.
Revisions and updates will be forthcoming as new, revised, and more complete information is obtained. It is my hope that this text will help fellow collectors enjoy the variety and depth of collecting coins from the Roosevelt dime series.
Richard
P.S.
In an age where information can be obtained and transmitted quickly, many books, especially reference books, can become obsolete or incomplete quite rapidly. If you go to any school or public library, you will find that many of the shelves of books that were there several years ago have vanished. Today, information on almost any subject can be found by doing a simple internet search of the topic. I am convinced that this trend will continue. With that in mind, I have decided to present Richard’s Roosevelt Review online. Rather than printing another edition that will have to be changed again in a few years, it is my hope that any new information, additional descriptive photographs, corrections, or updates can be included quickly using this online format. As more and more people are able to share information on the subject, the resulting “body of knowledge” is bound to be more thorough, insightful, interesting, and useful.
All of my doubled die, RPM, and OMM examples have been sent to CONECA (Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America) for opinions about authenticity and catalog listing numbers or have been authenticated and graded by third party grading services (PCGS or ANACS). A few of the pictures I use are copies of old CONECA photo files given for my use. A few others were given to me by Bill Fivaz. Regardless of the authentication or source, things can change from time to time. CONECA, for example, has changed the listing numbers and descriptions of coins several times in the last decade. It will probably do so again in the future. Also, if different error and variety specialists who have developed cataloging systems ever consolidate their information, things will, no doubt, change again. Because so many ambitions and egos are involved, I’m not sure that this will even happen, but, if it does, be prepared for changes. The coins will always be the same---the catalog descriptions will just fluctuate a bit. As long as you know that this is possible, you will be able to cope with the change. I am also capable to making mistakes—and I have. When I find out about them, all I can do is be embarrassed and correct my own material.
I have spent years searching for examples and compiling information. What I have assembled so far is not complete, but it gets better with time. I am hoping that, with your help, Richard’s Roosevelt Review will continue to improve.
Richard