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 Replies: 32 / Views: 3,831 |
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Valued Member
United States
293 Posts |
I'm new here, so I just wanted to start by saying hi! After looking through a few pages of posts, it looks like a great community! I wanted to join and share a little story since I've been having fun with my collection again recently. I started collecting coins in general and Liberty Head / Mercury dimes specifically when I was a kid...probably around 10-12 years old...when my dad would frequent this one pawn shop in town looking for antique gun stuff. They had a little coin room and I'd browse that while my dad shopped the rest of the place. I didn't have much money, but I was always drawn to the silver and I could pick up a dime or two with what I hadn't spent that month on toys and baseball cards :) At some point I put my little blue album away and hadn't really thought much about it until a few weeks ago. I'm in my mid-30s now, so I hadn't worked on this set in probably 20 years, but I saw that there was a shop down the street from my house and thought I'd check it out. I pulled out my album and realized that I was only a handful of dimes away from completing the set. I made my list, went in, and after a few visits to that shop and another one I found, here's where I am:   Of course, I'm missing the 1916-D...I don't know if I'll ever be able to fill that spot. I haven't looked for the Micro-S or the 1941/2 overdates so far. One of the shops has a pretty decent looking 1921-D at a price I can afford that I'll probably pick up in the next week or two when I get paid again. I know that most of the dimes are not in the best grades, but I picked up about 80% of them when I was probably between 10-15, so I think it's kind of cool. I'll likely look to upgrade some of the lesser ones as I go along with some nice ones as many of the dates can be picked in nice condition for just a few dollars. Also, I was wondering...I've read some of the threads here about an olive oil cleaning technique that does not harm coins. I'd rather keep mine in the condition that they are currently than do any damage, but if there is any chance of doing a treatment like that which will make them more presentable, I'd be interested in trying it. Has anyone tried it on Mercury dimes? Do you have before/after photos? Going to the shops has made me interested in collecting silver again! I picked up albums for Liberty Standing quarters and Liberty Walking halves at one of the shops. Today, I started working on my Liberty Standing quarter set! They'll probably take me another 35 years to complete, but I'm in no rush :) Thanks for looking! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1534 Posts |
 to the community. That is a very nice set you've almost completed, and I'm looking forward to seeing it when its completed. Some of the coins seem very nicely toned, and you probably paid a good price for them if you bought them 20 or so years ago. |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
to the community, You may want to try dipping your coins in acetone and than rinsing them in distilled water. Olive oil is mostly used on copper and bronze coins. |
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Valued Member
 United States
293 Posts |
wheatguy:
Thanks! I think silver was around $7/oz at the time and the pawn shop was selling dimes for 70¢ each if I remember correctly. I'm glad I bought as many as I did even though they aren't all that terribly expensive these days either, except for the key dates.
I wish I would have saved up and bought a 1916-D at that time...I remember seeing a really low grade one for sale for right around $100...
echizento:
Thanks also! Acetone? That won't cause any damage? Hmmm...I'll have to look into that...Thanks!
Edited by bwbollom
09/29/2009 8:25 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6383 Posts |
Welcome! The Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) dimes are a great series.
You probably won't find a bargain for the 1916-D but in circulated grades the 1945-micro-S coin can often be found among generic dates. See if your local dealer has a pile of common-date dimes you can search through. The micro-S coins turn up fairly often.
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Valued Member
United States
293 Posts |
Jaobler: Thanks! The Mercury dimes have always been my favorites! I haven't even looked for the Micro-S yet, but I'll definitely be checking for it ASAP. I wanted to get through all of the primary dates/mint-marks (minus the big one) before I started looking for the micro and the 1942over1s. They'll be on the list shortly and hopefully I can find a micro-s for a reasonable price. There's a coin show coming to town in a few weeks too, so I might be able to find some deals there... |
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
Congrats on a nice set bwbollom! You and I are about at the same place, as I only need the 16-d and am currently in the market for a low grade one. :-) A word of advice for that coin is: ONLY purchase one that is certified by a top TPG like PCGS, NGC or ANACS unless you absolutely trust your dealer with your life. This is one of the most heavily counterfeited key dates, a lot more fakes than real ones out there. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2373 Posts |
Welcome, and those are nice mercs. Check the 28S and 41S for large and small S types. nlp
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Valued Member
United States
293 Posts |
johnny54321: Hey! I was just checking your set out earlier today...nice dimes! The dealer at my shop basically said the same thing about the 16-D...he showed me a nice one that he has in stock priced at about $2200. Said he gets AG and G ones in semi-regularly and if I decide I'm in the market, let him know. He hits shows often and will look for something in whatever range I can afford...certified. If I'm going to drop that kind of money, I'm definitely going to spend the little bit extra for the piece of mind to know it's authentic :) nlp coins: Thanks! I guess I have others to look for now too :) Thinking back on it, I never really remember checking when I was young. I guess this is the larger version of the 1945-S, correct?  (just scanned that to check...) Edited by bwbollom
09/29/2009 11:26 pm
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Moderator
United States
187950 Posts |
to the Community! You have a nice set! By the way, I think the sentimental value trumps all.  |
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Valued Member
United States
293 Posts |
jbuck: Hey thanks for the welcome and compliments! I'm pretty pleased with it. It's never going to be the prettiest, shiniest set, but it'll always be the one that I assembled over the course of a long stretch of my life  Hopefully whoever I pass it along to one day will understand and appreciate that. |
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Moderator
United States
187950 Posts |
That is exactly how I feel about my coins. |
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Moderator
United States
16677 Posts |
Quote:
It's never going to be the prettiest, shiniest set, but it'll always be the one that I assembled over the course of a long stretch of my life Hopefully whoever I pass it along to one day will understand and appreciate that.
They will appreciate it and you should be proud of that set. They are great looking dimes! I agree, the Mercury series is a beautiful coin. Hope you find much enjoyment here at the CCF swcoin.ecrater.com
Edited by vermontensium
09/30/2009 12:09 pm
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Valued Member
United States
293 Posts |
jbuck:
You gotta love 'em :)
vermontensium:
Thanks for the welcome & compliments! I'm definitely proud of it...it's my favorite US Coin and I'm happy to be nearing a complete set. Looking forward to being a member here...seems like a good group!
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Valued Member
United States
293 Posts |
Well, I'm not exactly sure why I did it, but I spent WAAAY too much time at the scanner/Photoshop today and now have a record of everything. If anyone is truly, incredibly bored and wants to see my low to low/mid grade near-complete set of Liberty Head Dimes, check them out here: http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/...ury%20Dimes/While I was at it, I also scanned my handful of Liberty Standing quarters: http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/...%20Quarters/I hope to pick up more of those and Liberty Walking halves in the near future... Actually, I do know one reason why I did it...my cel phone has a photo album, so I dropped them all on a memory card and now when I'm at a coin shop or show, I can just flip through it when I find something at a good price and see if it would be an upgrade or not. It will be more accurate than lists, and I always know that I have my cel phone with me! It took too much time, but it will be convenient in the long run. Since I had them scanned, I figured I might as well upload them to the web and share  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
581 Posts |
Nice set and story.
Personally, I would focus on upgrading instead of getting the 16D. My crystal ball is cracked, but I'm guessing a 16D in AG/G shape will be about the same price in 5 years time. It'll be the others (in higher grades) that will go up more in price (percentage wise).
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Replies: 32 / Views: 3,831 |
Posted 09/29/2009 8:17 pm
