I'm pretty sure this 1965 Roosevelt dime didn't come from the mint this way...interesting copper shades. In the accompanying image, the obverse image is out of focus and I was too lazy to reshoot it, but the reverse is crisp. However, both images show the dimes unusual tone and coloring. I'm wondering if anyone has information as to what kind of vapor or chemical would create this. It takes quite high magnification to verify that the dime is bi-metal, you can only see it on the ridges where the coin's worn a little. It almost looked copper enough to be a copper dime, but not quite... It's the first silver or silver-clad coin I've seen like this and got me wondering if anyone has ideas as to what happened?
Hobo's right. Silver coins were ceased in 1964, and the only silver clad were the halfs, and some Ike dollars, but those were mostly for collectors
Shows what a novice I am, I was thinking that after 64 the coins kept silver for cladding and used copper for the core to make them cheaper. It's a bummer to have nickel and copper coins, even cheaper than I thought. Still, I didn't think either silver or nickel would change its color to this extent without something unusual happening. I've got a bunch of nickel coins, some more than a century old that still look bright. In fact, that's one of the properties of nickel, it doesn't oxidize much at all. Mixing it with silver creates a silver that doesn't tarnish (sometimes called German silver). This coin is quite new so it's not age that has done it or oxidation, there has to be some other factor.
Your coin may be what is called a improper annealed coin but it would be impossible to tell from a photo. I have a improper annealed state quarter that is slabbed and authenticated that looks just like your dime. the improper annealed coins have pure copper dust dust struck into them and look almost the same as the copper color toned coins. the improper annealed coins needs to be put side by side with the toned coins to easily recognise the difference. from closely looking at your photos i'm leaning towards your coin being one of the awesome improper annealed coins because the copper color is only in a few areas and the rest of the coin has the black color. the black color is usually associated with the improper annealing process.
