Today I want to speak about a simple set to put together, Roosevelt Dimes.
There is one added incentive to collecting Roosevelt Dimes, silver. For almost 20 years, these dimes contain 90% silver, where Jefferson Nickels only have 4 years, 1942-1945. While silver is around $30 an ounce, Roosevelt Dimes are still reasonable to buy.
Brief History Of Roosevelt Dimes
Congress passes legislation to put Roosevelt’s face on the dime because he founded a charity organization that would become The March of Dimes. The dime would be designed by John Sinnock since he had previously designed the Presidential Medal of Roosevelt.
Roosevelt Dimes begin in circulation on January 30th, 1946, Roosevelt’s birthday. From 1946 – 1964, the dimes are 90% silver. Since 1965, they have been clad (copper nickel).
Key Dates
Like I said earlier a Roosevelt Dime collection is easy to do, but if you’re looking for key dates, especially in uncirculated condition, I would say based on low mintages the 1949-S, 1950-S, 1951-S, 1955-P, D and S, and the 1996-W. Consequently, some may add semi-key dates like the 1946-S and the 1949-P and D.
Full Bands and Full Torch
Some of the third party grading services use the detail of the torch on the reverse as an additional grading variety. PCGS has the designation Full Bands if the upper and lower bands are distinct and show no wear. Unlike PCGS, NGC has the designation of Full Torch which goes beyond Full Bands by including that you can see the detail of the vertical bands and show no wear.
Roosevelt Dimes 50th Anniversary
The 1996 mint set includes a dime from West Point in its own packaging. Because of this, there were only 1,457,000 of them. This was the first time a dime has a ‘W’ mint mark.
March of Dimes 75th Anniversary
To mark this anniversary, the US Mint issued the 2015 March of Dimes Special Silver Set. In addition to a 2015-S March of Dime Silver Dollar, the set includes a 2015-P Reverse Proof Dime and a 2015-W Silver Proof Dime.
Collecting Roosevelt Dimes Can Be Fun
As it is an easy set to complete, Roosevelt Dimes are a great set for beginners as a starter coin set. It’s been around for 70 years now. Not only can you do the whole set, but you can even do a short set of just the silver ones – 1946 – 1964. Would you consider collecting Roosevelt Dimes?