How To Grade Roosevelt Dimes

Welcome back, Coin Roll Hunters!

I will guide you through another numismatic adventure as we begin to explore the detailed work of grading your coins!

Grading coins provide us with a systematic way to describe the condition and appearance of our coins.

Let's take a closer look at the Roosevelt Dimes we found yesterday.

The one on the left was found in the customer-wrapped roll and the one on the right came out of the bank-wrapped roll.

At this point, it's important to use our gear.

A great book to start us off on this topic is:
The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins

According to their website:
"The American Numismatic Association is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to educating and encouraging people to study and collect coins and related items. The ANA serves the academic community, collectors and the general public with an interest in numismatics."

The ANA will be another great resource for you as you continue to grow. But, let's get back to the coin at hand!

What we have here is a 1983D Roosevelt Dime in circulated condition, meaning that it has been passed around and handled. But, the coin on the left looks better than the one on the right? What we want to figure out is, How much better is the coin on the left against the coin on the right?

So, we could get into a very detailed discussion about the intricacies of grading, but that might scare you off. For now, let's just take an overhead view and if you're interested in learning more, you can explore the reference materials I've provided above.

The ANA breaks their system into 8 major groups:

(MS) Mint State, which shows no traces of wear.

(AU) About Uncirculated, with a little wear shown on the highest points.

(EF) Extremely Fine, with even more wear shown on the highest points.

(VF) Very Fine, moderate wear across the whole coin but the major features are still sharp.

(F) Fine, a bit more wear across the whole coin, but the design of the coin is still clear.

(VG) Very Good, this is a well-worn coin with flat spots in the design and which lacks details.

(G) Good, Even more heavily worn, The designs are visible, but the details are faint in spots.

(AG) About Good, Extremely worn smooth, with parts of the date hard to read, and details are mostly worn away.

And each major group is sub-divided into lesser groups, but we won't go into that right now. Let's just figure out, which major group our coins fall into. So, grab your magnifying glass and turn on a bright light. Let's get to it!

I like to start for from the top of the groups.

Right away, we see traces of wear in both coins. So, this will quickly eliminate the Mint State group.

Next is About Uncirculated. Take a closer look at the high points of the coins. These will be President Roosevelt's temple area behind his eye on the obverse and the flame of the torch on the reverse. Concerning our coins, I see wear in both those areas on the obverse. So, we will continue on to the next grade.

How about Extremely Fine? This condition focuses on only the highest points of the coin. On the obverse, they will be the hair lines above the ear, the cheeks, the ear itself. On the reverse, they will be the details of the flame, and the lines on the torch. Overall, we must also consider the luster of the coin. Luster is the shininess of the coin. Right away, we see that both of these coins are dull. That will exclude them from this group.

Then, there is Very Fine. Is there light, even wear? Are all the major features sharp? Look closely, now. On the obverse, can you see the details in the hair? The ear? and the cheeks? On the reverse, are the lines of the torch defined? How about details on the leaves? We are beginning to narrow it down now. The dullness of both coins shows light even wear. Also, there are still details in the hair, and ear of both coins, but they are smooth. However, the coin on the right shows rub marks on the highest points, which are not present on the coin on the left. Let's keep going.

Fine condition. Do the coins show moderate to heavy wear?  I would say, "Yes". Is the entire design clear and bold? "Yes" again. So, what about the details in the hair? Are half the details worn away? For this question, it would be a good idea to find a coin from the latest year. Something from 2016 would be fine. Compare the lines in the hair you see to this newest coin, against the lines you see in your birthday coin. My two coins from 1983 are showing more wear on the hair lines. I would feel comfortable placing them in this group more than the one above. Let's keep digging.

What about Very Good? Are the coins well worn over all? Are the designs clear, but flat in the high points and lacking details? Clearly, these coins are still showing their high points. Tilting the coin at a sharp angle under the light, there is no evidence of any flat areas of the highest points. We can still make out the detail lines in the hair. So, I think the coins we have are both in a higher grade than very good. 

This is a good place to stop. Both coins appear to be in Fine condition. But, the coin on the left has less wear than the coin on the right. This is when you will get into studying the details of the subclasses.

As you gain more experience, you will learn to identify the finer details of the subclasses. But, for now, I think we're safe calling these coins Fine condition coins. And we will just drop the one on the right back into circulation, as it is clearly less attractive than the one on the left.

So, there you have it. This is a great way to get to know your coins and appreciate the artistry of their designs. Grading your coins will make it easier to identify better coins out of the pile more quickly, and make the quality of your collections much more appealing.

Thank you for joining me on another numismatic adventure and add your comments and coin-related questions below. 

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Get ready for our next big hunt! 

You will need two rolls of coins.
1 - bank-wrapped roll of dimes.
1 - customer-wrapped roll of dimes.

Happy Hunting!