Collecting Roosevelt Dimes

All of the 1955s were saved by the roll in large quanties which increased the survival of these in BU.

That makes sense. Most I've paid for the 55's in BU is $2 a coin. I figure it's a relatively safe gamble given there is still a decent silver junk value in the coin at worst. I want to save these for when I have kids someday and it's in my price range so I'm having fun with it. Hope I can find some 49-s BUs but I'm not willing to pay over about $2.50 a coin.

I think lots of people collect/keep/maintain albums, of dimes.
The series is just so... how to put it nicely? Boring? Uninspired?
I have a Dansco that I am filling with high end dimes, unc and proof.
"Filling" is a good word. It's pretty mechanical with this series,
compared to the love and thought I put into more exciting sets, such
as my Jefferson nickels or 32-98 quarters. Almost every other set is
more interesting and exciting to work on compared to the FDRs... IMO,
the post 98 quarters and the "golden dollars" are the only other series
that are equal to, or even more boring than the FDR dimes.

You won't find a truly nice 49s for $2.50. There are a few (very few, but
more than one for sure) years that you won't find TRULY nice examples of
for only $2.50, now that I think about it. You can probably find coins of
these years that fall into the definition of 'uncirculated', and technically
give you an unc set... However, it won't be a set to be proud of. When I
build a modern set, especially one as easy as the FDRs, I can't see why
you would want to cut corners and have a mediocre set. I think I paid $15
for my 49-s, but without either dumb luck or an unknowledgeable seller, your
$2.50 coin, even if unc, will look like crap next to my $15 coin. Is a little
pride in your set worth saving $12.50 in the 'big picture'? IMO, a modern set
that MOST of the coins will cost pocket change, spending a McDonalds lunch
to get the best 2 or 3 "harder" dates is just not worth fighting.
(and anyone that knows me, knows I am a really big cheapskate)

This is just my opinion... Yours may vary.

Thanks for the quick replies. I now understand why the 55-P isn't as valuable. Come to think of it I've noticed maybe 4-5 sellers who put up 55 bu rolls one at a time on ebay. I never see the 49 or 50 S being offered in BU rolls. Do you think less than $2 a coin for 55 bu is a bad price though?

Outside the silver to clad conversion for 65 the Roosevelt has had no other changes for almost 70 years. Even the Lincoln Cent can't make that claim. Once the 2015 appears it will surpass even the LWC as the longest lived design/composition combination. While this makes for a boring series, especially with such an uninspired design, it makes for easy collecting.

I suspect the Roosevelt dime will survive as is until coins are obsolete sometime in the next decade or two. With few really hard to find coins thruout it is easy to collect and may approach the LWC as a favorite for young collectors due to the relative ease of finding most dates in circulation (post 65 of course) and even the occasional silver.

I was old enough to collect the Roosevelt dimes from circulation with only a few actually purchased. It was my first completed set. In the 70's I became bored with clad coinage and along with the other coins of the era there was a void in my collecting until 1992 when silver proofs came about. Now I just get the silver proof set each year to maintain my silver series.

The business strike set is definitely affordable. The proofs are manageable if you were buying proof sets all along and breaking them apart.

I like my set. It is easily the lightest album I own.

I've completed my Roosevelt dime collection and believe me I've paid much more than $2.50 per coin.