The Silver Roosevelt Dime - A Brief History

You will find much more buying and selling information on the Roosevelt silver dime and 11 other popular U.S. 90% silver coins in my eBook The Last US 90 Percent Silver Coins

The Roosevelt Dime is a familiar U.S. coin used by most Americans on a daily basis. Not as well known is the Silver Roosevelt Dime, the predecessor to the current clad dime minted from 1946-1964. Here is how the Silver Roosevelt Dime became the silver-LESS Roosevelt Dime...

In the early 1960's, silver coins were being hoarded rather than remaining in circulation. Silver had risen from about 90 cents per ounce in 1960 to around $1.30 by 1964. If this continued, as many people assumed, the value of these coins would rise based strictly on the melt value of their silver content.

The U.S. Treasury tried to prevent this hoarding by increasing the silver coinage available during this time. In the case of Silver Roosevelt Dimes, there were about 270,460,400 produced for general circulation in 1960 which, by 1964, had increased to 2,286,877,180.

Their strategy didn't work. The hoarding of silver coins continued and soon it would cost 11 cents in silver to produce a ten cent coin. So, beginning in 1965, most silver coins were discontinued including the Silver Roosevelt Dime. Today's clad Roosevelt Dime is made of .750 copper and .250 nickel except for silver proofs which still contain the original amount of silver.

The Silver Roosevelt Dime - Useful Facts

The Silver Roosevelt Dime features the head of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the 32nd U.S. President) on the obverse side with the reverse side featuring a torch with olive branch and oak branch on either side (click on either image of this Roosevelt 1964 Silver Dime to see a larger, more detailed image).

Three U. S. Mints were involved with the production of Silver Roosevelt Dimes: Denver, San Francisco and Philadelphia. The mint mark is located on the reverse side - lower left (click on the above right image - the red dot is where the mint mark is located). Mint marks are "D" for Denver and "S" for the San Francisco Mints. If no mint mark appears, it was minted in Philadelphia.

Silver Roosevelt Dimes are 90% silver and 10% copper. Uncirculated silver dimes contain .0723 Troy ounces of pure silver with a gross weight of .080 Troy ounces (2.50 grams). Circulated silver dimes are considered to contain .0715 Troy ounces of pure silver due to the "wear factor" in handling these coins. The silver content of fourteen silver dimes equals approximately one ounce of silver.

To determine a circulated Silver Roosevelt Dime value, multiply .0715 times the current spot price of silver (can be found on the Home Page).

Example: $25.00 x .0715 = $1.7875

Roosevelt Dimes on Amazon

One place to buy these dimes is at your local coin shop, but don't overlook Amazon. Here you will find circulated and uncirculated coins sold in quantities of one or in small lots.

If you decide to invest in circulated silver dimes, keep in mind that approximately 14 dimes equal one ounce of silver and use that as a buying guide. Of course, circulated dimes in the higher grades as well as uncirculated dimes (graded MS60 and higher) will fetch a higher price than those having common dates and in just fair condition.

Dimes like these are great in barter situations. You would be wise to have some in your possession. If you are ready to shop for these dimes after reading the above material, click on this Amazon link Buying Coins and enter Roosevelt dimes in the search bar at the top of the page. You will see what coins are available and their asking price. Be aware I receive a small compensation if you buy through this site which does not result in you paying more.

Disclaimer: I have made every reasonable effort to produce an informative and helpful article on Roosevelt Silver Dimes based on my research and experiences. However, I make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation or purpose. See Terms and Conditions for more info.