High-level Table of Contents
1. History of the Series
A detailed history of the series, from Thomas
Jefferson's original proposal for a "Fifth" of a Dollar (later called "double disme"), several additional attempts in the 1800s,
to the final authorization in 1875, its rejection, and ultimately the abolishing of the denomination in 1878.
2. Design Evolution -- Patterns of 1874-1875
The evolution of the design through the patterns
of 1874 and 1875, including the players, the different designs, and communicaton between Mint Director Linderman
and Superintendent Pollock. Rarity and collectability information is also discussed.
3. Misplaced Dates
Well known to those who have studied the series,
there are surprisingly many instances of misplaced dates (tops of digits below the date in the denticals). This chapter presents
a theory on how these misplaced dates may have been created, and evidence is presented to demonstrate that this theory is,
at least, plausible.
4. Collecting Double Dimes
People collect this series in many different ways,
including by type, by year, by mint, and many others. More and more collectors are building complete sets, and also focusing
on varieties. A recent trend of Liberty Seated collectors is to study die marriages. This chapter discusses the different
manners in which one can collect twenty-cent pieces, and offers suggestions and options for doing so.
5. Grading
Although the twenty-cent piece is a Liberty Seated coin,
grading this series is fundamentally different than grading the other denominations. A different obverse model was used, and the
reverse is much more three-dimensional than other Liberty Seated series, necessitating different grading standards. Strike also
highly affects appearance. This chapter offers grade descriptions and photos of both well-struck and weakly-struck coins to
illustrate the differences.
6. Date and Mintmark Analysis (including all known die marriages)
Along with a brief history for each year, each
date and mint is described, including mintages, strike, major varieties, overall availability, and pricing
commentary. Following the summary information for each issue, a detailed listing of all known die marriages is presented, with high-resolution
photos of identifying die markers, die states, comments on relative availability and rarity ratings.
7. Errors
Double dime errors range from very scarce to
extremely rare. This chapter describes and illustrates the different types of errors known to exist on twenty-cent pieces.
From minor to spectacular, these blunders are challenging to find.
8. Exonumia
In years past, many things were done to coins,
creating a wealth of interesting and unique coin-related collectibles. Love tokens, counterstamped coins, elongated coins, and clothing
accessories/jewelry are some of the unusual items made from twenty-cent pieces, and all are scarce to rare. This highly-illustrated
chapter also discusses counterfeits as well.
9. Mintages and Survival
This chapter examines the records
of the official melting of twenty-cent pieces over the course of many decades, beginning in the 1870s until well
into the 20th Century, and the estimates for survivorship of the different issues, leading to the various
levels of scarcity seen today.
Appendix - Anecdotes
This Appendix rounds out the book
with stories, all involving twenty-cent pieces. From the discovery of discarded dies in Carson City, to the finding of new die marriages,
these stories present a different perspective than normally
seen in a book about coins. It is about history, and it is about the excitement of discovery.
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Additions to the book: three supplements have been written to update the book regarding new discoveries since publication.
For readers with the Print Edition of the book,
each Addendum can be downloaded and printed for insertion your book. In addition, the web book has been updated accordlingly. The three files are:
