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 silver Roosevelt dimes.
Roosevelt dimes were first made in 1946, and back then they were struck in 90% silver.
In 1965, the United States Mint began striking copper-nickel clad Roosevelt dimes.
Fun & Challenging To Collect
Upon first thought, you may not think there’s much to get excited about with dimes. After all, there have been:
- Essentially no design changes on the Roosevelt dime… Ever (with the exception of the 2026 Semiquincentennial dime)
- Few major regular-strike rarities
- Virtually 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 few rare errors
- Some bear a “W” mintmark (West Point New York)
So, you still think the Roosevelt dime series is boring? I didn’t think so!
Here’s a list of current Roosevelt dime values.
Strategies For Collecting Roosevelt Dimes
These dimes are pretty easy to find in circulation. As it goes with most areas of coin collecting, the biggest challenge comes in finding certain dates.
For example, all Roosevelt dimes struck 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.
Check out the current 1946-1964 silver dime melt value.
A few years back, it was relatively easy to pick through bank rolls of dimes ($5 each for 50 dimes) and boxes of dimes ($250 worth, or 2,500 dimes) 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 dime is not as widely collected as, say, pennies, are. Therefore, many of the semi-key dates for dimes are in good supply at many coin shops. (Hint: 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 dimes, a stop by the local coin dealer will again be necessary. Most clad dime dates can be bought for as little as 30 to 50 cents each.
Errors and proof 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 dime that passes through your hands, you may find other varieties — such as doubled dies, repunched mintmarks, and other exciting error coins!
READ NEXT: A List Of Dimes Worth More Than Face Value
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