Fact Check: "Rare Roosevelt Dime Worth Millions, Still in Circulation"

What the claim says

Headlines say a rare Roosevelt dime worth a fortune is still in circulation. The body usually describes the 1975 no-S dime, sometimes the 1968 or 1970 no-S. Then it tells you to check your pocket change. The pairing is the problem: the coins named were never meant for pocket change.

What's true: the no-S proof dimes

Starting in 1968 the San Francisco Mint struck proof coins for collectors, but the proof dies were prepared in Philadelphia, where the S mint mark was punched into each die. A few dies missed that step. Coins struck from them have no mint mark at all.

PCGS reports that only a few dozen 1968 no-S proof dimes are known, the 1970 no-S is less scarce with several hundred estimated and the 1983 no-S proof also numbers in the hundreds. The 1975 no-S is in a class by itself: just two are known. The first was found in a 1975 proof set in 1977 and the second turned up seven years later. It is one of the great modern American rarities.

Every one of these came from a sealed proof set sold to collectors. They have mirror-like surfaces and were never released to banks. If one turned up in change, it would be because someone spent a proof coin, which is possible but vanishingly unlikely.

What you can really find in change

Roosevelt dimes from 1946 to 1964 are 90 percent silver. They still turn up now and then, sometimes rejected by coin-counting machines because their weight differs from clad dimes. They carry a small premium for their silver. From 1965 on, dimes have been copper-nickel clad.

The 1982 no-P dime is the one real variety that came out through normal circulation. Philadelphia struck some 1982 dimes from a die missing its P, the first business-strike coin to leave the Mint without its intended mint mark. PCGS estimates no more than about 150,000 exist. Many surfaced in northwest Ohio and the Pittsburgh area. A clean one is a collector premium coin.

How to check your dimes

• Look at the date. Anything 1964 or earlier is silver. Check the edge: a silver dime has a solid silver-colored edge, while a clad dime shows a copper stripe.
• Find the mint mark. On 1946 to 1964 dimes it is on the reverse, left of the torch base. From 1968 on it is on the front, just above the date. Dimes from 1965 to 1967 have none, which is normal.
• On a 1982 dime with no mint mark above the date, compare it with a 1982-P. If the space is empty and smooth, set it aside for checking.
• If you have a mirror-finish dime with no S from 1968, 1970, 1975 or 1983, compare it with proof-set coins of the same year and send it for authentication.
• On any silver dime, look for full horizontal bands across the torch on the reverse. Fully separated bands on an uncirculated coin add a premium.

Why the story spreads

A two-known coin with an auction history is irresistible to ad-driven writers. The jump from "this coin exists" to "it could be in your change" is where the story turns false. The E-Sylum has noted how robot-generated pages with fact-free dollar figures surface because they share keywords with things you've already read.

To spot the next version, ask whether the article mentions that the coin is a proof. If a story about the 1975 no-S dime leaves out the proof set, it's leaving out the part that tells you you won't find one in change.

Frequently asked questions