Taken from the US Red Book 2002:

"John R Sinnock (whose initials JS are at the truncation of the neck) designed this dime showing a portrait of Franklin D Roosevelt. The design has heavier lettering and a more modernistic character than preceding types."

What grading service to trust? This company & its president, Ed Lee, only trust two grading services for old/rare US coins. They are PCGS & NGC.

Why? There are several reasons, which include they have withstood the test of time. PCGS was founded in 1986 and NGC in 1987. Secondly, these two services are recognized by more top dealers than any other, which is why Lee Certified Coins joined both almost immediately and stayed with both grading services ever since. Thirdly, they are not "dial you own grading services." Yes, Virginia there are grading services that will put any grade on a slabbed coins the dealer who submits them coin asks for. And yes, there are grading services that don't care if the coin was harshly cleaned or chemically altered. Ex: Chemicals that add what seems like pretty or original toning to a coin. The fourth reason is a killer so pay close attention: NGC and PCGS slabbed coins retain more of their value over time after being graded than any of the other grading services.

More than 40-years ago I coined the term, "there is no Santa in the coin business." If a coin seems too good to be true at the price listed, or the reserve, there is a problem or problems with it. Fall for it and when you go to sell it some day you will be extremely unhappy but left with no legal recourse after the statute of limitations expires in your state.

This is my 48th year in the US rare coin business so I have seen all the tricks, cons, come-ons, scams, fads, bait & switches imaginable...too many in fact.

But for dishonesty to flourish in any market or venue there has to be two parties. One must be a dishonest seller and the other a gullible, greedy or naive buyer.

Since no one can close down all the dishonest dealers in any field of sales the smartest thing is for the buyers to get smart/wise/educated ASAP. Unless you got your money so easy it doesn't matter to you if you get cheated?

The rare coin business is well connected by the internet, publications and dealer pricing services so how can there be great bargains laying there for the taking? If there were, some dealer with decades of experience would have taken them before you had time to even think about it or blink 3-times.

Now you can either take this free advice based on 48 years in the business and more than $200 million in sales or ignore it and buy with your blinders on.

Lastly, since all coins slabbed by firms other than NGC and PCGS sell for lots less on average, don't you think I would offer the cheaper coins to increase sales if they were a better deal??? Not in this lifetime. Remember Shakespeare's famous words: "Steal my purse and you have nothing but steal my name and you have all."