Roosevelt Dime - Unknown Date

Coin Details

Description

Serving as the reference page for Roosevelt Dimes of the clad and silver proof era (1965 to date) where the specific date is unknown or unidentifiable, this listing represents the long-running dime series that has been in continuous production since 1946. The obverse features a left-facing portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, designed by Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock and bearing his initials JS on the truncation of the bust. Roosevelt was chosen for the dime because of his personal connection to the March of Dimes organization — originally the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis — which he helped establish in 1938 to combat polio, the disease that had left him paralyzed from the waist down since 1921. The reverse displays a torch flanked by olive and oak branches, symbolizing liberty, peace, and strength respectively, also designed by Sinnock. From 1946 through 1964, Roosevelt Dimes were struck in 90% silver weighing 2.50 grams. Beginning in 1965, regular-issue dimes transitioned to a copper-nickel clad composition weighing 2.27 grams, while proof versions in 90% silver were reintroduced beginning in 1992 for collectors. All Roosevelt Dimes measure 17.9 mm in diameter (listed as 18.8 mm including tolerance) with a reeded edge containing 118 reeds. The series has produced numerous collectible varieties including doubled dies, repunched mintmarks, and proof errors, and its uninterrupted eight-decade production run makes it one of the longest-serving coin designs in United States Mint history.