Daniel Carr's 1945 Roosevelt Dime

Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in office in 1945, but Roosevelt dimes began in 1946. Carr's fantasy piece is dated 1945 and, like all Moonlight Mint fantasies, was overstruck on genuine coins, Roosevelt dimes in this case.

248 of this coin design were struck before the dies were destroyed.  As is typical with these, a few were struck over other coins - in this case, three on US Mint copper-nickel clad dime blanks. Daniel keeps those. It will be interesting when these fantasy-fantasies do finally come on the market.

Note:  All my coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

Contests and giveaways: http://coins.aplawrence.com/2014/05/contests-and-giveaways.html

1982 No Mint Mark Dime

While it is certainly possible that you might find one of these in your pocket change, I suspect the chances are slim.  The estimated mintage was less than 150,000 and they were discovered early, so many rolls were snatched up from banks immediately.

Still, only a few thousand have been submitted to PCGS and only a few hundred to NGC, so there are many more of these somewhere.  That's probably why prices have stayed relatively low (under $200 for MS64's like this).

Note the "Strong" designation.  There are examples with less sharp dates and rims; these sell for a little less (though they may be more rare - it's impossible to know right now).

Although the chances of finding one now would be slim, it can't hurt to take a peek at your change, right?  Note that no dimes prior to 1980 will have the P mintmark even though they were minted in Philadelphia.

Note:  All my coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

This week's Coinweek Giveaway: http://www.coinweek.com/~cd53675ce0bee42

Also multiple contests going on at http://www.moderncoinmart.com/forum/forums/contests/

Daniel Carr's 1965 Peace Dollar

I've mentioned Daniel Carr and the Moonlight Mint before.   If you missed that, Daniel creates fantasy coins - dates that do not exist, struck on genuine coins of some other date.  He also produces various tokens, but it's the fantasy issues that create controversy.  Some people think that such things should be illegal,  or that they are damaging the hobby even if they are legal.

Well, whatever you may think, this is a pretty coin:

Note:  All my coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

A few days earlier I also picked up this 1945 Roosevelt dime, but it isn't nearly as pretty.

People have asked me why I buy these.  I really don't have a great answer. I think they are fun and the past issues have increased in value, but that doesn't fully explain it.  Maybe it's because they are real coins, maybe because I too am surprised that it is legal to do this.  Maybe it's the low mintages. I really do not know, but apparently I'm going to keep buying them.

By the way, there is also a Daniel Carr 1964-D Peace Dollar, but you have to watch out for those that are not his.  You'll see them on eBay sometimes for cheap prices, but the real ones run around $300 now. The others don't look as good, and may even be illegal if they were not struck over real coins and are not marked "Copy".

Note:  All my coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

This week's Coinweek Giveaway: http://www.coinweek.com/~cd535e2d686a500

Also multiple contests going on at http://www.moderncoinmart.com/forum/forums/contests/