,A Missing “S” Turned This 1968 Proof Dime Into a $22,800 Modern Rarity
In 1968, the United States Mint sought to restore order to American coinage. Instead, it accidentally created one of the great modern U.S. coin rarities.
That year marked the return of official Proof Sets after a three-year break. Collectors had waited since 1964 for the Mint to resume polished, mirror-finish Proof coinage. The new sets came from San Francisco, and each Proof coin carried an “S” mintmark.
At least, each one should have.
A small number of 1968 Proof Roosevelt dimes escaped the Mint without the “S” mintmark. The error looked minor. However, its importance became enormous. Today, the 1968 No S Roosevelt Dime ranks as the first Proof coin accidentally struck without its intended mintmark. It also stands as one of the keys to the entire Roosevelt dime series.
A Proof Set Born From a Coin Shortage
The story starts with the coin shortage of the mid-1960s.
As silver prices rose and collectors pulled coins from circulation, the Mint faced intense pressure to produce everyday change. Therefore, it suspended traditional Proof Sets after 1964. From 1965 through 1967, the Mint offered Special Mint Sets instead. Those coins looked better than ordinary circulation strikes, but they did not match true Proof quality.
Then, in 1968, the Mint restarted Proof Set production. It also shifted the work to the San Francisco Assay Office. That move mattered. Before 1968, Proof coins came from Philadelphia and carried no mintmark. Now, for the first time, Proof coins would carry a branch mintmark.
The Mint announced that the “S” mintmark would identify Proof coins struck at San Francisco. In theory, that solved the problem. In practice, one small letter became a very big problem.
How the No S Dime Happened
The San Francisco facility struck the coins. However, Philadelphia prepared the Proof dies.
That split created the opening for disaster. Before shipment west, workers needed to add the “S” mintmark to the Proof dies. At least one Roosevelt dime die left Philadelphia without it. Then San Francisco used that die to strike Proof dimes.
The mistake almost certainly surfaced quickly. Mint employees appear to have caught the problem before many coins escaped. However, a few dimes had already entered sealed 1968 Proof Sets. Once those sets reached collectors, the Mint could no longer retrieve every mistake.
As a result, a modern legend entered the hobby through the most ordinary of channels: a government Proof Set sold to the public for five dollars.
The Stack’s Bowers Set
The complete 1968-S Proof Set offered by Stack’s Bowers in its August 2021 ANA Auction brought $22,800.
The five coins came individually graded and encapsulated by PCGS in consecutive holders. The original cardboard holder accompanied the set, although the original plastic case did not.
The set included:
- 1968-S Lincoln Cent, Proof-67 RD PCGS
- 1968-S Jefferson Nickel, Proof-68 PCGS
- 1968 No S Roosevelt Dime, Proof-68 PCGS
- 1968-S Washington Quarter, Proof-67 PCGS
- 1968-S Kennedy Half Dollar, Proof-66 PCGS
The dime carried the entire lot. PCGS graded it Proof-68, with untoned surfaces and modest cameo contrast. At the time of sale, Stack’s Bowers listed the PCGS population at eight in Proof-68, with three finer in the category.
That number only tells part of the story. Population reports include grading events, not necessarily unique coins. Crossovers and resubmissions can inflate totals. Therefore, the true surviving population remains smaller than the census figures suggest.
Why This Dime Matters
Collectors often call the 1968 No S dime a “modern error.” That description fits, but it also understates the coin.
Most mint errors tell a story about mechanical failure. A planchet misses the press. A coin receives a second strike. A blank enters the wrong production line. This dime tells a different story. It records a breakdown in the Mint’s new post-shortage system.
The Mint had just restored mintmarks. It wanted accountability, order, and control. Yet the first year of San Francisco Proof Set production produced a coin that lacked the very mark meant to show that control.
That irony gives the 1968 No S dime its power.
Additionally, the coin launched an entire category of Proof “No S” rarities. Later mistakes included the 1970 No S Roosevelt dime, the 1971 No S Jefferson nickel, the 1975 No S Roosevelt dime, the 1983 No S Roosevelt dime, and the 1990 No S Lincoln cent. Among them, the 1975 No S dime remains the rarest, with only two examples known. Still, the 1968 No S dime came first. It opened the door.
Do Not Confuse It With a Pocket-Change 1968 Dime
The 1968 No S Proof dime also creates confusion.
Millions of ordinary 1968 dimes from Philadelphia carry no mintmark. Those are business strikes. They belong in change jars, albums, and rolls. They do not represent the famous Proof error.
The rare coin must show Proof surfaces. It should have deep mirrors, sharp design detail, and the overall look of a specially made collector coin. Most known examples trace back to official 1968 Proof Sets.
So, a 1968 dime without a mintmark in pocket change almost certainly came from Philadelphia. A genuine 1968 No S dime came from San Francisco Proof production and escaped inside a Proof Set.
That distinction matters. It separates a common dime from a five-figure modern rarity.
A Small Coin With a Large Market Presence
The 1968 No S Roosevelt dime seldom appears in major auctions. When it does, specialists pay attention.
The issue appeals to several groups at once. Roosevelt dime collectors need it. Proof Set collectors want it. Error specialists chase it. Modern rarity collectors respect it. As a result, the coin enjoys demand far beyond its small size.
Stack’s Bowers captured that appeal well in 2021. The firm presented the dime not as a loose curiosity, but as the key coin within a complete 1968-S Proof Set. That context matters. It reminds collectors how the coin entered the hobby: hidden in plain sight beside four ordinary Proof coins.
In that setting, the No S dime feels even more dramatic. Every other coin did exactly what it should have done. The cent, nickel, quarter, and half dollar carried the San Francisco identity. The dime did not.
The Mystery Still Helps the Coin
No public Mint record explains exactly how many 1968 No S dimes escaped. That silence adds to the coin’s mystique.
Collectors know the broad outline. They know Philadelphia prepared a die without the “S.” and they know San Francisco struck Proof dimes from that die. AlsoThey know the Mint destroyed what it found. They also know a few coins slipped out.
However, the final count remains uncertain. PCGS has estimated that only about a dozen survive in all grades. Other census figures show more grading events, but those numbers likely include resubmissions.
That uncertainty gives the issue a rare advantage. It combines modern documentation with old-fashioned mystery. The coin comes from the age of hard plastic Proof Set holders, not dusty 19th-century cabinets. Yet it still forces collectors to ask the oldest question in numismatics: how many are really out there?
Final Thoughts
The 1968 No S Roosevelt dime proves that a modern coin does not need gold, silver, or great size to command attention.
It weighs just 2.27 grams and carries a familiar Roosevelt design. It looks, at first glance, like a simple missing-mintmark coin. Then the story takes over.
This dime emerged from a turning point in Mint history. It followed a national coin shortage and arrived with the return of Proof Sets. It marked San Francisco’s new Proof role. Then, through one overlooked mintmark, it became the first great Proof No S rarity.
That is why collectors still chase it more than half a century later.
The 1968 No S Roosevelt dime is not merely a mistake. It is a tiny, mirror-bright reminder that even the modern Mint can create a legend by leaving out one letter.
