The Lowly Roosevelt Dime

I have been looking for a new coin to build a couple of sets with and I got to thinking about the dime. I have 2 complete sets of rosies and was thinking about adding a third. I realized that nobody really talks about the dime very often and there seems to be very little interest in it. Dimes are so cheap, that you can literally build sets with your extra lunch money. The highest priced coin in the series that I could find was a 1951 proof that sold for around $65.00.

The Roosevelt Dime seems to garner no respect for some reason. Introduced in 1946 and replacing the popular mercury head dime, The Rossevelt dime honored the longest serving president in U.S. history who in addition to dying in office, also served most of his term with polio. He lead us out of The Great Depression and through WWII. Yet the Roosevelt dime seems to be the poor redheaded stepchild of coin collecting.

• Has anyone come across any articles that explain why this particular coin is so undesirable?
• Was the mercury head dime just that popular that nobody wanted it to be replaced?
• How many of you have a 1946-2006 complete collection of Rosies?
• Investors, is this a question of zigging while others are zagging?

Let's talk dimes.

 

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You know, I thinks because there are no really Hard-To-Find ones. The silver (pre-1965) issues are all pretty easy to locate. There may be some neat varieties yet to be discovered though...

Take Care
Ben

 

I put together a complete set of circulated silver dimes by date and mintmark from 1946 through 1964, but that was more out of a love for cheap silver than it was for the coin itself or the president who appears on it. It's probably one of the most overlooked coins. Large coins seem more popular than small coins.

 

Who would want a coin that has the guy on it that took us off the Gold Standard?

Nope---I have a circulated one started but never have gotten around to completing it---I'm thinking about watching for a complete set already done that I can buy---my dealer had one not too long ago.

Speedy

 

I have a complete set of the silver 46-64 Unc in a dansco.
A complete series of silver coins in BU for around $200 is what attracted me.
Perhaps when the design of the dime changes the roosies will see an increase in value,one never knows.

 

I bought two rolls of silver dimes from a girl at work. She had inherited them from her grandmother.
They were supposed to be Mercs but turned out to be Rosies. Anyway it darn near made me pass out when I saw the uncirculated condition. Seems her grandfather used to bring them home and stash them away ever since 1946. So that made me go out and buy a brand new Dansco and start an uncirculated set.
So I have one complete set 1946 to 2006D. I had to buy a few, the 1955D and 1955 cost $7 each. The 1946S also was $7.
Then I picked up a complete circulated 1946 to 1966 set at the Hartford coin show for $50. I used 10 of them to fill the holes in the Dansco.
Funny, the hardest year to find was a 1974D. Finally bought it from a guy here.
I never liked the coin, and never considered collecting it; but those brilliant uncirculated rolls of Roosevelts changed that.
Now I have the leftover extras from 1946 to 1964 put in 2X2 holders and in those 20 coin pocket plastic notebook pages. I have 5 pages (about 90 dimes) of extra BU in a three ring notebook.
6 months ago I had just three silver Roosevelt dimes. I do enjoy looking at them and showing them to relatives. I figure my total invested is around $100.

 

I just bought a set of dimes, 1946 through 1964 P,D,S for about 58 bucks. Mostly uncirculated and with a Whitman album. I felt that this was a pretty good deal because it included all of the proofs. I aleady have the later years and I thought that the earlier years would be tough to pull out of circulation in even reasonable condition. I have found several sets on ebay that sell for around a 100 dollars. I just hope that this turns out to be a zig rather than a zag.

 

The clad dimes are mostly very underappreciated.

It's tough to put together a circulated set of these and there are no BU rolls of many dates. To assemble an unc set there is almost no choice but to cut up the mint sets and many of these coins are unattractive. And the mint sets just keep disappearing as more are cut up to make this sort of set.

I like the silvers also but these tend to be much more of a known quantity. Also there are lots of AU's of even the toughest dates which will work to hold these back.

The entire set has things that make it a suberb collectible. It has some of the rarest US coins and the ability to complete a regular issue set for peanuts (well under $100). It has the proof only issues. Perhaps best of all is that a nice attractive set in MS-63/ 64 is scarce but can be put together for only a small premium over a fairly common MS-60 set. This series has something for just about everyone and just gets longer and more interesting every year.

 

I have three complete sets and every time I see a good looking coin in high grade I buy it, this is one of the most underrated coins in the hobby today.And as long as people stay away from it that just leaves more silver dimes for me.

 

My set is complete '46 thru '06 except for the proofs

 

I know the answer to this! The designer's initials, JS (John Sinnock) which are located to the left of the date, were initially rumored to stand for Joseph Stalin, who everybody knew was going to be the enemy soon enough. Thus the coin was subconsciously reviled.

Personally I got years of enjoyment out of the series as a kid, because it was the only set I had hope of completing with minimal expense. And I have to hand it to FDR, who had to deal with a range of difficulties we haven't seen since.

 

I think that the Roosevelt dime has been alseep for several reasons:
1. the merc. dime was absolutely one of the greatest coin designs ever produced by the united states (imo) and the Roosevelt is very plain when compared to it.
2. the mintages are very high for the entire run (no real keys)
3. Other coins are hot right now (Washington quarters are riding high) and not much attention is being put on the dime.
4. the coin is dang small.Ii know collectors that don't by anything smaller than a 50c piece because their eye-site is not so good

I don't agree with the J.S. initials really having anything to do with the popularity of the series. When it first came out people started spreading a rumor that the J.S. stood for Joseph Stalin, and that it was some kind of "deal" that we made with him after the war for some reason. the mint even had to send out a press release to explain the designers initials.

I really like the set, and have several of them done. Right now on the back burner i am acquiring nicely toned examples of the silver run.

the 1996-W is a nice coin to have as well, the lowest mintage Roosevelt in the series.

 

Here is a little Wiki info:

Roosevelt (1946–present)

Soon after the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in April 1945, legislation was introduced by Virginia Congressman Ralph H. Daughton that called for the replacement of the "Mercury" dime with one bearing Roosevelt's image. The dime was chosen to honor Roosevelt, partly, due to his efforts in the founding of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (later renamed the March of Dimes), which originally served to raise money for polio research and to aid victims of the disease and their families.

Due to the limited amount of time available to design the new coin, the Roosevelt dime was the first regular-issue US coin designed by a Mint employee in more than 40 years. Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock was chosen, as he had already designed a Mint presidential medal of Roosevelt. Sinnock's first design, submitted on October 12, 1945, was rejected, but a subsequent one was accepted on January 6, 1946.

The dime was released to the public on January 30, 1946 which would have been Roosevelt's 64th birthday. Sinnock's design placed his initials (JS) at the base of Roosevelt's neck, on the coin's obverse. His reverse design elements of a torch, olive branch, and oak branch symbolized, respectively, liberty, peace, and victory.

Controversy immediately ensued as strong anti-Communist sentiment in the United States led to the circulation of rumors that the "JS" were the initials of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. The Mint quickly issued a statement refuting this, and confirming that the initials were indeed Sinnock's. Another controversy surrounding Sinnock's design involves his image of Roosevelt. Soon after the coin's release, it was claimed that Sinnock borrowed his design of Roosevelt from an FDR bust created by noted African American sculptor Selma Burke a few years previous. Sinnock denied this, claiming that he simply utilized his earlier design on the Roosevelt medal.

With the passage of the Coinage Act of 1965, the composition of the dime changed from 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper to a clad "sandwich" of copper between two layers of an alloy of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel. This composition was selected because it gave similar mass (now 2.27 grams instead of 2.5 grams) and electrical properties (important in vending machines)—and most importantly, because it contained no precious metal.

Soon after the change of composition, silver dimes (as well as silver quarters and half dollars) began to disappear from circulation, as people receiving them in change hoarded them (see Gresham's law). Although now very rare in circulation, silver dimes are still occasionally encountered in change.

In 2003, a group of Conservative Republicans in the United States Congress proposed removing Roosevelt's image from the dime, and replacing it with President Ronald Reagan. Legislation to this effect was introduced in November 2003 by Indiana Representative Mark Souder. Among the more notable opponents of the legislation was Nancy Reagan, who in December 2003 stated that, "When our country chooses to honor a great president such as Franklin Roosevelt by placing his likeness on our currency, it would be wrong to remove him." After President Reagan's death in June 2004, the proposed legislation gained additional support. Souder, however, stated that he was not going to pursue the legislation any further.

 

I was not speaking seriously on that detail:whistle:. Only that its interesting how people react to seemingly innocuous details about coins. The VDB initials on the 1909 cents are another example of that.

I have a full set of Roosevelts (no proofs), many of them found in circulation and nearly all the rest from the loose bins at coin shops. I'd say that's given me plenty of enjoyment of the series.

 

I just finished my Franklin set (MS-63+) hya: and only have to get the elusive MS-65+ 1982 and 1983 P/D Roosevelts for a complete set including Proofs.

 

I do not deny the little "Stalin" part of the Roosevelt dime story, but i do not think it has anything at all to do with the value of the coin today.

Yes it is strange how the general public reacts to things, like people hording the sac. dollar because they thought it had some gold in it.

 

What are considered the toughest dates to acquire in MS condition for the clad roosevelts? Every series has its keys.

 

'82-P, '69, '83-P, '83-D, '71.

Almost all the varieties are tough except the '68 DDO and '70-D DDR.

 

I agree with most here, the Roosevelt series have no real keys and mint totals are high for most of the series. I too have have complete 1946-1964 sets. (one in BU and one circulated).

However...consider this...A few months back, I was combing through a monthly coin mag and then it hit me; the silver proof series (1992 - current) is IMO grossly undervalued. Just about every silver roosevelt from 1992 to the present is below 1 million in production. Typically, the 1 million mark is my "magic number" (unless you consider 2 cent and 3 cent pieces). You can currently put together a CERTIFIED set of the new silver Roosevelts in PR-69 DCAM for virtually cheap money ($10-$20 per coin). In my opinion these are sleepers. Time will tell.

 

I still find them in change, if I see them I pull them simply because of silver content...