Collecting Roosevelt dimes can be both fun and challenging.
After all, while Roosevelt dimes flood our pocket change, it can be a bit costly for some to buy and assemble a collection of the silver Roosevelt dime.
Roosevelt dimes were first made in 1946.
In 1965, the United States Mint began striking copper-nickel clad Roosevelt dimes.
Roosevelt Dimes: Fun &Â Challenging To Collect
Upon first thought, you may not think there’s much to get excited about with Roosevelt dimes. After all, there have been:
- No design changes on the Roosevelt dime — ever
- No major regular-strike rarities
- No big-time news stories about Roosevelt dimes
And then you realize that Roosevelt dimes:
- Are 90% silver from 1946 to 1964 and for certain proofs since 1992
- Are mostly inexpensive and easy to collect
- Include a couple rare errors
- Twice bore a ‘W’ (West Point New York) mintmark
So, you still think the Roosevelt dime series is boring? I didn’t think so!
Let’s look at some of the key dates, rarities, and other interesting things you’ll find in the Roosevelt dime series…
Roosevelt Dime Key Dates
The Roosevelt dime regular-strike ‘key’ dates and their values in uncirculated grades are:
1949 — ($20+)- 1949-D — ($10+)
- 1949-S — ($35+)
- 1950-S — ($30+)
- 1951-S — ($10+)
- 1955 — ($5+)
- 1955-D — ($5+)
- 1955-S — ($5+)
- 1996-W — released only in mint sets ($15+)
- 2015-W silver proof — released only in proof sets ($5+)
- 2015-P reverse silver proof — released only in proof sets ($35+)
Rare Roosevelt Dimes
There is also a score of unintended rarities in the Roosevelt dime series.
All estimated values are for coins in either uncirculated or proof, unless otherwise noted:
- 1960 doubled-die obverse — proof ($100+)
- 1963 doubled-die reverse — ($25+)
- 1964-DÂ doubled-die reverse — ($30+)
- 1968 no-S — proof ($11,000+)
- 1970 no-S — proof ($600+)
- 1982 no-mint mark — ($75+ circulated, $250+ uncirculated)
- 1983 no-S — proof ($800+)
Roosevelt Dime Values
Unless your Roosevelt dime is one of those listed above, you can generally expect your piece won’t be worth very much money.
Even silver Roosevelt dimes aren’t worth much more than their silver bullion value — even if uncirculated.
Here’s a look at average values for most Roosevelt dimes not listed above:
- Worn silver Roosevelt dimes from 1946 to 1964 ($1 to $2)
- Uncirculated silver Roosevelt dimes from 1946 to 1964 ($2 to $3)
- Worn copper-nickel clad Roosevelt dimes 1965 to present (10 cents)
- Uncirculated copper-nickel clad Roosevelt dimes 1965 to present (20 cents to 50 cents)
Strategies For Collecting Roosevelt Dimes
Roosevelt dimes are pretty easy to find in circulation. As its goes with most areas of coin collecting, the biggest challenges come in finding certain dates.
For example, all Roosevelt dimes made before 1965 are made from a composition consisting of 90% silver. Virtually all of these coins were removed from circulation by silver hoarders by the end of the 1960s and are very difficult to find today.
Having said that, silver Roosevelt dimes still do turn up on occasion. So it’s worth checking your change and especially searching rolls of dimes to look for these old silver coins.
A few years back, it was relatively easy to pick through bank rolls of dimes ($5 each, or 50 coins) and boxes of dimes ($250 worth, or 2,500) and find at least 1 or 2 silver dimes.
These days, so many silver stackers are looking for silver and are in on this silver coin searching game that it’s becoming more difficult to find silver coins from local banks — but you can still find silver dimes in circulation if you’re persistent.
At this point, the Roosevelt dime is not as widely collected as, say, Lincoln cents, are. Therefore, many of the semi-key dates listed above are in good supply at many coin shops. Sometimes they’re even sold at discount rates simply to move the inventory out of the store.
Clad Roosevelt dimes are, as might be expected, easy to find in circulation. Of course, these coins are worn and may not be satisfactory to coin collectors who want gem-quality coinage.
For those uncirculated Roosevelt dimes, a stop by the local coin dealer will again be necessary. Most clad Roosevelt dime dates can be bought for as little as 30 to 50 cents each.
Proofs and error Roosevelt dimes can be bought from your local coin dealer, too — but don’t forget to check your change for those error coins!
For example, the 1982 no-P Roosevelt dime can be located in circulation and many people wind up with this exciting clad coin error simply by picking it up in pocket change for face value. The 1982 no-P dime is worth about $75 in worn condition.
If you closely scrutinize every Roosevelt dime that passes through your hands, you many find other varieties — such as doubled dies, repunched mintmarks, and other exciting error coins!
More About Roosevelt Dimes & Silver Coins
- New Key Roosevelt Dime Coins
- Roosevelt Dime Error List
- A List Of Dimes Worth More Than Face Value
- The Value Of Popular U.S. Silver Coins
- 1946-1964 Silver Roosevelt Dime Melt Value
I'm a roller coaster junkie, a weather enthusiast, a frequent traveler, and a numismatist. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I'm a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG). I've also been studying meteorology and watching weather patterns for years. I enjoy sharing little-known facts and fun stuff about coins, weather, travel, health, food, and living green... on a budget.
