Rare 1975 Dime Value
Can you believe there’s a rare 1975 Roosevelt dime worth $500,000?!
It’s true, and it’s probably the most valuable copper-nickel clad United States coin ever made.
Why is an old Roosevelt dime worth so much — and how can you find it?
In this article, you will learn:
- What makes this rare 1975 Roosevelt dime so special
- Features to look for on your 1975 dimes
- The best places to find rare and valuable dimes like this one
A 1975 Dime Really Sold For $500,000?
Yes!
Here’s the sales data for a single 1975 dime:
- A 1975 Roosevelt dime took nearly $350,000 at auction — the 1975 No S Roosevelt dime sold for $349,600 in summer 2011.
- Then on September 6, 2019 this same 1975 Roosevelt dime sold for $456,000 at auction.
- Less than 1 week later, the exact same dime traded hands in a private transaction to a wealthy Roosevelt dime collector for $516,000.
This means one single example of a 1975 dime increased in value by more than $165,000 in fewer than 10 years!
Amazing, huh?
But, wait — there’s the OTHER example of the 1975 dime error. And guess what? It, too, sold for over $500,000!
- The other example of the 1975 No S Roosevelt dime was encapsulated by PCGS and consigned to coin auction firm GreatCollections, 46 years after the family acquired the coin. That example of the rare 1975 dime worth big money sold for big money indeed! It hammered for $506,250 in October 2024, setting a new record price for this valuable error variety.
Why Is This Dime So Rare?
This Roosevelt dime is rare because only 2 of these special collector coins are reported to exist!
They were made accidentally — it’s believed that very few escaped before a U.S. Mint employee noticed the error and stopped the presses.
Apparently, at least a couple of these dimes (and maybe more!) escaped from the Mint before anyone could do something about them.
Details To Look For On Your 1975 Dimes
This rare (some would say elusive) 1975 Roosevelt dime does NOT contain an “S” mintmark.
But here’s the kicker…
If you’ve found a No-S 1975 Roosevelt dime in your pocket change, there’s a 99.9% chance it isn’t the rare dime that’s the subject of this post.
Does your 1975 Roosevelt dime look something like the one in this photo?
If so, then it’s NOT the 1975 No S Roosevelt dime. It is a regular, Philadelphia Mint 1975 Roosevelt dime.
You see, all Roosevelt dimes made at the Philadelphia Mint prior to 1980 have no “P” mintmark. This is totally normal.
It’s understandable that you probably find this to be very disappointing news. But the only way you’re likely to turn up a 1975 No-S Roosevelt dime is by finding it in a 1975 proof set.
What Is A Proof Set?
A proof set is a special set of collector coins that the United States Mint sells to coin collectors each year.
Proof coins are made on specially prepared dies and are struck on polished planchets (coin blanks). Each proof coin is struck multiple times to help bring up the tiniest details. Therefore, most proof coins look very sharply struck — and many have shiny (even mirror-like!) surfaces.
Proof coins have been made in the United States since the 1800s. During that time and into the 1900s, most proof coins were sold individually. Since 1936, proof coins have usually been offered in sets.
Traditionally, proof sets were packaged at the Philadelphia Mint — but since 1968, they’ve been manufactured at the San Francisco Mint.
As you may know by now, most coins that come from the San Francisco Mint have an “S” mintmark. Virtually all proof 1975 Roosevelt dimes have an “S” mintmark. In fact, of the 2,845,450 proof Roosevelt dimes made at the San Francisco Mint in 1975, only 2 of them are known NOT to have an “S” mintmark. It’s one of the rarest modern U.S. coins!
Proof No S Roosevelt Dime Values
The 1975 No S proof Roosevelt dime might be among the rarest of modern dimes, but it’s certainly not the only No-S Roosevelt dime.
Check out these other No S proof dimes and their current values:
- 1968 No S Roosevelt dime — worth $10,500+
- 1970 No S Roosevelt dime — $450+
- 1983 No S Roosevelt dime — $400+
Other Rare Roosevelt Dimes To Look For
Don’t lose hope of finding a rare Roosevelt dime!
Granted, that 1975 Roosevelt dime you just found is most likely not worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — but there are plenty of other old Roosevelt dimes worth much more than face value.
Check out these valuable, rare Roosevelt dimes you might happen to find in pocket change:
- Any pre-1965 silver Roosevelt dime — worth $1.50+
- 1982 no-P Roosevelt dime — $75+
- 1996-W Roosevelt dime — $15+
Good luck hunting for rare dimes!
And if you have any questions, remember that you can always drop me a comment below.
READ NEXT: A List Of All Rare U.S. Dimes
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