Die Variety News #13 is Published

Billy Crawford has published the latest edition of his free Die Variety News Magazine, issue #13. The cover story for this issue is the mysterious 2004-D Roosevelt Dime which has an apparent doubled ear. The doubled ear is difficult to see in the small photo I have here, but if you click through to Billy's site and look at the full-sized Die Variety News #13 cover, you'll see an enlargement of this intriguing coin. Inside issue #13, Billy examines this remarkable coin and provides an answer to the question people have been asking ever since the coin was discovered: Is it a doubled die? Was this semi-circular mark on the ear made by the same person who added the "extra leaf" to certain Wisconsin Quarters (also done at the Denver Mint in 2004?) Or is this mark just some kind of random die damage? Billy shows us what he thinks is the cause, using his lovely large-sized microphotographs and a clear, point-by-point explanation of his theory.

Another feature in Die Variety News #13 includes a look at the 1988 penny reverse transitional varieties. Transitional varieties are a type of die variety that happens when the Mint switches from one (master die) hub to another, presumably between coining years. Sometimes an old reverse die from the previous year gets used with the obverse die dated the following year, resulting in a mule of sorts. (A mule is a coin struck with the wrong obverse and reverse dies matched together.) Billy explains more about transitionals, plus he provides photos that show us exactly what to look for. I think transitionals will rise in value significantly once they become better understood by collectors. (As an aside, we have an interesting transitional variety happening right now in the Silver Eagle series! The Mint has matched the 2007 reverse type to an unknown number of 2008-dated coins.)

A few months ago, I told readers about a mystery coin, a Presidential Dollar with mysterious abrading marks on it. Despite numerous theories, nobody could offer an explanation for these coins that most experts were willing to accept. Now, Billy thinks he's figured out the mystery, and his explanation and photos are in the current Die Variety News.

Other features of this issue include a 2006 penny with a strange reverse, some Wyoming State Quarter doubled dies, a selection of newly-discovered Ocean In View Nickel doubled dies, and Billy's regular columns, "This & That" and "Variety Spotlight." As always, Billy offers Die Variety News free of charge in PDF format, so please use good netiquette and save your copy to disk so that you can cut down on the load on Billy's server. Anyway, it reads and scrolls much faster if you save it to your disk, plus you'll always have it for future reference.

• Billy Crawford's Die Variety News #13

Photo courtesy of Billy Crawford and Die Variety News.