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    • 2022 Article Archive >
      • The Rolling Stones Walk Into a Bar with Five Reeded Edge Half Dollars and Get...SHATTERED!
      • A Multiyear Quest to Find a Specific Coin Achieved Thanks to the Generosity of a Collector
    • 2020 Article Archive >
      • A Tribute to Rhode Island Numismatist, and My Dear Friend, George H. Champlin IV
      • A Raw Roosevelt Dime Silver Set as a Side Project
    • 2018 Article Archive >
      • The Beloved PCGS Old Green Holder (OGH) Passed Away Approximately 20-Years Ago This Month
      • Archive of Cool Coins, Medals & Exonumia Added
      • EEMcD & The Mystery of the 1838 Reeded Edge Half Dollar
      • Book Review "An Inside View of the Coin Hobby in the 1930s: The Walter P. Nichols File"
    • 2017 Article Archive >
      • You Never Know what Events will Transpire to get You Home...
      • April 2017 Baltimore Show Report
      • A Glimpse into a Coin Deal
      • Observations from the Bourse; Hairlines
      • Thomas Bush Wins David Lawrence Literary Award (Again)
      • The Colors of Autumn; A Toning Enthusiasts Friend
    • 2016 Article Archive >
      • Observations from the Bourse; But Coins
      • Will the Efficiency of the TPGs Naturally Lead to all Worthwhile Coins Becoming Overgraded?
      • April 2016 Baltimore Show Report
      • A British Historical Medal Featuring a Canadian Train Trip that also Included Stops in the United States
      • New Barber Half Dollar Article for Barber Coin Collectors' Society
      • Circulated Barber Half Dollars-A Look Back at Two Decades of Specialization
      • Mistaken Misogyny-Andrew Mellon, Laura Fraser & The George Washington Portraiture
      • Thomas Bush Wins David Lawrence Literary Award
      • Standing Lincoln Monument Dedication at Saint Gaudens National Historic Site
      • November 2016 Baltimore Show Report
    • 2015 Article Archive >
      • The Mighty, Toned Washington Quarter
      • Collecting Mid-Grade Barber Half Dollars
      • A Simple Study on the Frequency of the Center Mintmark Position for 1897-S Barber Quarters
      • Thoughts & Strategies for Building a US Type Set
      • Three Fortuitous Auction Victories Illustrate the Importance of Knowing the Quirks of the Venue
      • Canadian Gold Reserve Coinage 1912-1914
      • A Young Numismatist & A Lost Future
      • Observations from the Bourse; CAC
      • August 2015 Chicago ANA Show Report
      • Saturn, Saint Gaudens & the Tom Seaver Era New York Mets
      • Cpl. Michael Eyre Thompson & the Walking Liberty Half Dollar
      • That's a wrap! Canadian Gold Reserve Coinage Melted
      • November 2015 Baltimore Show Report
      • Wonderful Die Polish on Newfoundland Coinage
Thomas Bush Numismatics

A Raw Roosevelt Dime Silver Set as a Side Project

I’m certain many of us pick up a series or idea and start to form a collection that gets put on the back burner and only looked at now and again. Such is the case for a Roosevelt set that I started to build perhaps 15-years ago. Like most other dealers or serious collectors, I see lots of coins and over time I have built a pair of gem, untoned album sets of silver Roosevelt dimes. I’ve also owned and sold dozens of superbly toned examples, many of which were certified with very high grades.

The untoned album sets never cost much, either to build or to sell, but some of those high grade toned coins cost a relatively large sum of money. Around 15-years ago I started to pick out the odd dime or two that was really nice when I would buy a bullion deal or partial US Mint Set; or an end roll coin or otherwise generic album set, or just some random, individual piece that looked cool. My vague goal was to squirrel away these nice coins and, eventually, place them in a Capitol Plastics holder or some type of shelf album. In the meantime, they were kept in a clear plastic tube.

At this time I’ve managed to build a complete 1946-1964 silver set and would like to share it. Please keep in mind that this was not a set of intense focus or effort on my part and that, on average, I have probably spent seventy-five cents (perhaps all the way up to a dollar) per coin on average. This set afforded me the opportunity to feel engaged in my own collection even while I might not have been buying many (or many high end) coins.  The pieces I have chosen to include in the set are attractive or interesting or just "different".  It has been a nice diversion to come back to over and again.  These coins are all raw and many of the more attractively toned pieces have one or more "fatal flaws" that would preclude a very high certified grade.  This was good for me, as it meant that the coin was being sold for essentially bullion at the time of purchase.

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Thomas Bush Numismatics

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