MEGA RED covers dimes
An in-depth look at the U.S. dime series highlights the 4th edition of the MEGA RED Guide Book of United States Coins.
Of the 1,504 pages in this new edition, 294 are devoted to dimes 1796 to date.
All other U.S. coin issues are covered in the remaining 1,210 pages.
Price of the new edition is $49.95.
“United States dimes are extremely popular among collectors,” said Q. David Bowers, who wrote the expanded coin-by-coin study and contributed to all of the related appendices.
The coin-by-coin study is illustrated with more than 1,600 photographs of dimes.
In addition to these detailed studies of individual dimes, Bowers coordinated 15 of MEGA RED’s 25 appendices that each focus on a specific dime-related topic, according to Whitman Publishing.
The richly illustrated “Carpe Dime! Dimes Seize the American Imagination,” by award-winning numismatic author Joel Orosz, explores dimes in popular culture ranging from music to literature, movies and other entertainment, commerce, banking, and other aspects of life in the United States.
Other appendices show extraordinary error and misstruck dimes; pattern dimes and proposals that never became official coins; counterstamped dimes; dime scrip issued by banks, merchants, and towns; “paper dimes” from the U.S. Treasury Department; Civil War sutlers’ “dime” tokens; Civil War 10-cent store cards and dimes used as planchets for silver Civil War tokens; dimes recently discovered in the purser’s safe of the shipwreck S.S. Central America; the history of the famous 1894-S dime; a snapshot of the dime market in the 1940s; irradiated dimes; and an illustrated essay on the greatest U.S. dimes.
Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker said, “Dave Bowers drew from many sources for this detailed study of U.S. dimes. He consulted specialized references, analyzed auction results, researched historical documents and contemporary news accounts, and collaborated with specialists from around the country.
The John Reich Collectors Society, whose focus is on early U.S. silver and gold coins, was a useful resource for pre-1838 dimes. “Back issues of their John Reich Journal are a goldmine of information and can make everyone an expert,” Bowers said.
Bowers’s coverage of Seated Liberty dimes (1837-1891) is similarly detailed.
He gives a great amount of advice and guidance on smart buying and collecting, and he also shares insight and research from the Liberty Seated Collectors Club and other specialists.
For Barber dimes (1892–1916), Bowers presents another full guide to collecting after consulting with John Frost, Phil Carrigan, and other members of the Barber Coin Collectors Society.
In the Winged Liberty (or “Mercury”) dime section, Bowers explores strike characteristics, proofs, grading standards (including Full Band details), retail prices in 12 grades, population data, die varieties and marketplace factors. Bowers consulted with David W. Lange, Bill Fivaz and others.
The history of Roosevelt dimes is laid out in extensive detail.
Bowers gives an illustrated biography of Roosevelt, a history of the coin’s design (including the controversy over artist Selma Burke’s claim to be its designer), and information about production, hub changes over the years, tips for collecting and grading standards (including Full Torch details).
To order, visit www.whitman.com.
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More Collecting Resources
• More than 600 issuing locations are represented in the Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800 .
• The Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money is the only annual guide that provides complete coverage of U.S. currency with today’s market prices.
