1983 (P) Roosevelt Dime - SKH-10c-1983P-01 Spiked Head

Description

Representing the earliest Philadelphia Mint Roosevelt Dime spiked head in the early 1980s catalog, SKH-10c-1983P-01 documents a die crack into the bust on a date that carries additional numismatic significance — 1983 was the year the Philadelphia Mint transitioned from producing coins without mintmarks to adding the "P" mintmark on dimes (and other denominations except cents), ending a nearly two-century tradition of unmarked Philadelphia coinage for circulating issues. This was only the second year that Philadelphia dimes bore the P mintmark, following the Roosevelt Dime's pioneering adoption of the letter in 1980. The spike is a crack in the obverse die that runs from the rim into Roosevelt's bust; planchet metal filling the crack during striking shows as a raised spike on Roosevelt's portrait. As the sole documented spiked head for 1983-P, this entry may reflect either genuinely few cracked dies of this kind or the limited scope of systematic dime die variety research during the early 1980s, when collector attention focused overwhelmingly on Lincoln Cent varieties. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with documentation dated January 15, 2019, this variety helps establish the historical timeline of spiked head documentation across the Roosevelt Dime series. The 1983-P dime was struck on copper-nickel clad planchets at a facility that was approaching its bicentennial year of operation.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 01/15/2019.

External References