By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
Ninety-percent-silver Roosevelt Dimes were manufactured from 1946 through 1964, but the continual rise in the price of silver bullion in the early ’60s caused the United States Mint to replace the silver in all circulating coins with a copper-nickel clad composition.
Business strike clad Roosevelt Dimes have been minted at Philadelphia every year starting with 1965, and at Denver every year since 1968. San Francisco has produced clad Proofs since 1968, and both clad and silver Proofs since 1992. No Proofs were minted in 1965, 1966, and 1967, though Special Mint Sets with those dates were produced. The coins for these Sets were specially prepared, but the finish quality is somewhere between Proof and business strike.
Dimes from 1965 through 1967 display no mintmark; Denver (D) and San Francisco (S) mintmarks from 1968 forward are placed on the obverse above the final digit of the date. Philadelphia dimes since 1980 have carried a P mintmark, and special W-mintmark dimes (for the West Point Mint) were issued in 1996 and 2015. The P and W mintmarks also appear above the last date digit.
Nearly all clad Roosevelt Dimes are affordable. Circulation strikes with FB designation (Full Bands, the bands on the torch) and Cameo/Deep Cameo Special Mint Set coins from 1965 through 1967 are priced two to 10 (or more) times higher than coins without those distinctions. Coins with additional price premiums are the No Mintmark issues: the 1982 circulation strike, and the 1968, 1970, and 1983 Proofs. Prooflike circulation strikes are also listed in census/population reports.
The Non-Mint Set Years: 1982-1983
While collector enthusiasm for clad issues has never truly taken off, the dimes of 1982 and 1983 do not have a backstop of a million-or-so United States Mint Sets to help collectors fill holes. Roll hoarders and coin dealers, therefore, were forced to save regular Mint output for those two years. Adding to the complexity, most coins struck for circulation during this period were manufactured with overused dies and lack the visual “pop” of Mint Set coins.
The most notable dime from this period is the scarce “No P” variety, thought to have been produced by one die. The 1982 “No P” occurred when one of the working dies used to strike coinage was not punched with the Philly “P” mintmark. The oddity was discovered in late 1982 – most notably at the popular amusement park Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
The number of 1982 “No P” dimes that made it out into the wild is unknown, but judging by the submission totals at PCGS and NGC, the variety stands as the most-submitted clad Roosevelt Dime for grading outside of the 1996-W. But unlike the not-intended-for-circulation novelty coin, the “No P” is genuinely scarce and desirable from a numismatic standpoint. An ungraded example in Extra Fine condition will likely find a buyer at $30, while a Mint State example in Gem or better will bring $300 or more.
Also note that most numismatic references differentiate the 1982 “No P” into two classes: Strong and Weak. These terms denote the completeness of the strike of the overall coin, with the Strong version being nearly completely struck as intended and the Weak version having many of the outer design details flattened to the point of obliteration. Collect both types if you like, but our take is that the Strong “No P” is more numismatically interesting.
The Market for the 1982-P Dime
In evaluating the 1982-P Roosevelt Dime, one must differentiate between raw and certified, Full Torch and normal strike characteristics, not to mention the presence or absence of the P mintmark.
A 1982-P Dime that you find circulating in change has a slight numismatic premium and examples do sell routinely on eBay as hole fillers for $1 or $2. Uncirculated examples will appear as struck, and without professional photography and visual assurance that the coin is a Gem or better example, expect them to trade for $5 or $6 each.
Once certified, the market for the 1982-P dime opens up dramatically, with each step in the Mint State grading spectrum adding significant arbitrage. A PCGS- or NGC-graded 1982-P in MS65 sells for $12 to $15. A grade higher yields prices in the $18 to $22 range. In Superb Gem, the 1982-P Roosevelt Dime is worth about $50.
More particular collectors denote the completeness of the coin’s strike by inspecting the torch on the reverse for full details. A fully struck and detail delineated torch is known as Full Torch or FT (or in the case of PCGS, FB for Full Bands as mentioned above). The price of FT dimes is roughly double their non-denoted counterparts up to the grade MS67.
The MS67 grade is interesting, as NGC and PCGS diverge in the frequency of grading events. Whereas NGC reports 39 grading events in MS67FT with one in MS68FT, PCGS reports just 12 in MS67FB with one in MS67+FB. This scarcity of grading events advances the market prices of PCGS coins over that of their NGC counterparts REGARDLESS WHETHER THE NGC COINS ARE ACCURATELY GRADED. The record price for an NGC MS67FB is $1,499.42 paid in September 2018 for an example listed on eBay.
The “No P” variety always commands a premium price.
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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens
Top Population: PCGS MS67+FB (1, 7/2024), NGC MS68FT (1, 7/2024), and CAC N/A (0:0 stickered:graded, 7/2024).
- PCGS MS67+FB #82186321: eBay, September 2018, Lot 163163313810 – $1,499.42. Current record price.
- NGC MS67FT #6527172-010: GreatCollections, August 4, 2024 – View.
- PCGS MS67FB #44950888: Heritage Auctions, June 18, 2014, Lot 25218 – $480.
- PCGS MS67FB #32938495: eBay, February 2021, Lot 333787165883 – $419.
- NGC MS67FT #704317-007: Heritage Auctions, December 14, 2014, Lot 25199 – $152.75.
- PCGS MS67 #72193342: Heritage Auctions, November 16, 2014, Lot 25218 – $56.
- PCGS MS67 #60045005: Heritage Auctions, March 29, 2004, Lot 384 – $56.
1982 “No P” Roosevelt Dime
Top Population: PCGS MS67FB (10, 7/2024), NGC MS67+ (1, 7/2024), and CAC N/A (0:0 stickered:graded, 7/2024).
- NGC MS67+ #6605874-005: Heritage Auctions, March 26, 2024, Lot 27355 – $870. Sole top pop coin.
- PCGS MS67FB #46984700: GreatCollections, May 7, 2023, Lot 1359199 – View.
- NGC MS67FT #6501592-001: Heritage Auctions, April 4, 2023, Lot 21122 – $1,080.
- PCGS MS67FB #44108681: GreatCollections, March 6, 2022, Lot 1122168 – View.
- PCGS MS67FB #05837308: “Erasmus Hall Registry Set of Roosevelt Dimes,” GreatCollections, January 16, 2022, Lot 1095131 – View. LS Brown pedigree on label.
- PCGS MS67FB #84715915: GreatCollections, August 13, 2017, Lot 486458 – View; GreatCollections, April 25, 2021, Lot 982392 – View.
- PCGS MS67FB #39205128: GreatCollections, April 26, 2020, Lot 803510 – View.
- NGC MS67FT #3814556-001: Heritage Auctions, June 12, 2016, Lot 7653 – $998.75.
- NGC MS67FT #1996710-001: “The Paul Kiraly #1 NGC Registry Roosevelt Dimes, Circulation Issue,” Heritage Auctions, December 4, 2014, Lot 3425 – $881.25.
- PCGS MS67 #44900263: “The Stephenville Collection,” Heritage Auctions, May 13, 2024, Lot 93026 – $552.
- PCGS MS67 #4986761: Heritage Auctions, January 24, 2023, Lot 27313 – $660.
- NGC MS67 #1819073-011: Heritage Auctions, February 1, 2022, Lot 21250 – $630.
- PCGS MS67 #4772621: Heritage Auctions, October 20, 2020, Lot 25609 – $720.
- PCGS MS67 #3491499: Heritage Auctions, June 11, 2019, Lot 25459 – $504.
- NGC MS67 #4187900-006: Heritage Auctions, April 16, 2019, Lot 25154 – $552.
- NGC MS67 #632677-011: Stack’s Bowers, March 15, 2017, Lot 91163 – $399.50.
- PCGS MS67 #83278571: Heritage Auctions, February 21, 2017, Lot 25717 – $616.88.
- PCGS MS67 #4772615: Heritage Auctions, February 19, 2017, Lot 7410 – $705.
- PCGS MS67 #80638513: Heritage Auctions, August 14, 2016, Lot 7533 – $646.25.
- PCGS MS67 #14278205: Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2016, Lot 7844 – $646.25.
- PCGS MS67 #2742058: Heritage Auctions, April 16, 2008, Lot 750 – $805; Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2016, Lot 7845 – $646.25.
- PCGS MS67 #7696864: Heritage Auctions, September 20, 2015, Lot 7289 – $881.25.
- NGC MS67 #1773401-006: Stack’s Bowers, July 14, 2014, Lot 21168 – $411.25.
- PCGS MS67 #2713531: “The Brian Loncar Collection, Part II,” Heritage Auctions, June 7, 2014, Lot 7922 – $470.
- PCGS MS67: DLRC, August 2007, Lot 5641 – $1,380.
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Design
Obverse:
A left-facing profile of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt occupies most of the obverse space. Inside the smooth rim in front of Roosevelt’s face is the word LIBERTY. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST in smaller letters is positioned below the chin. The date 1982 is squeezed into the space inside the rim and beneath the neck truncation to the right of the designer’s initials JS below the edge of the neckline. The mintmark P for Philadelphia is located at the back of the head between the date and the truncation.
Reverse:
Completely encircling inside the reverse smooth rim is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and in slightly larger letters the denomination ONE DIME, the two phrases separated by centered dots. In the center is a flaming torch, flanked by an olive branch to the left and an oak branch to the right. Forming a horizontal line through the base of the torch and both branches is the partitioned motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, with centering dots separating the three Latin words.
Edge:
The edge of the 1982-P Roosevelt Dime is reeded.
Designer
John R. Sinnock (1888-1947) served as the eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1925 through his death on May 14, 1947. In addition to being chosen by Mint Director Nellie Ross to design both the new Roosevelt Dime and Franklin Half Dollar in 1946, Sinnock is responsible for engraving the 1926 Sesquicentennial American Independence Half Dollar and gold $2.50 for the 150th anniversary of the United States of America. Sinnock also helped sculpt the U.S. Army’s modern Purple Heart Medal for Military Merit by soldiers wounded in combat.
Coin Specifications
| Country: | United States of America |
| Year of Issue: | 1982 |
| Denomination: | 10 Cents (USD) |
| Mintmark: | P (Philadelphia) |
| Mintage: | 519,475,000 |
| Alloy: | 75% Copper, 25% Nickel |
| Weight: | 2.27 g |
| Diameter: | 17.90 mm |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| OBV Designer: | John R. Sinnock |
| REV Designer: | John R. Sinnock |
| Quality: | Business Strike, Proof |
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I have a 1982 no p with a 5 struck upside down on his jaw line where it meets his chin. A lot of buzz on the Internet about this super rare commodity.
I have a 1982, with p upside the year 1982.
If you read through the article, a 1982-P dime found in circulation is only worth a minimal premium and is mostly a hole-filler in a coin folder. Over half a billion were struck.
I have a 1982 with p.
i have coin error one cent yr 1982 no mint mark & 2003 D
A cent without a mint mark is not an error. Except for special 2017 issues, Philadelphia doesn’t put a P mint mark on any cents. Please check your pocket change; you should find others as well.
Over 3.5 *B*illion 2003 cents were minted at Denver. Unless your coin is uncirculated it’s only worth face value.
I have the coveted 1982 P souvenir set, 2 of them to be exact. And I also have 2 of the 83 P sets. Yup they are some of my favorite sets.
Hi my Josh. I was cleaning out a house. And I found a roll of 1982 dimes both D and P. I’m going to have to come up with something other than what I have to magnify them. Because I can barely see some of the mint marks. I swear some look to have an f on them. It’s definitely not clear
Hello I have a 1975 and it looks identical with the1 on you tube tha worth 348,000 dlls where can I checked and see if that’s the 1 the collectors are looking for and where can I sell it?
You probably do not. But you can read this article to get a better read of things: https://coinweek.com/modern-coins/modern-coin-rarities-explained-the-1975-no-s-roosevelt-dime/
I have a 1982-p 2.32g
A quick Google search shows that the nominal weight of a clad Roosevelt dime is 2.27 gm with a tolerance of ± 0.091 gm. Your coin’s on the high side but well within specs so it’s almost certainly just a normal strike.
As the article notes, 1982-P dimes found in circulation don’t have any significant added value.
“The continual rise in the price of silver bullion in the early ’60s caused the United States Mint to replace the silver in all circulating coins with a copper-nickel clad composition, effective with 1965-dated coins.”
That decision only affected dimes and quarters. Halves of course _were_ a circulating denomination at that time, but silver interests persuaded the Mint to continue minting them in a silver-clad composition with an overall fineness of 40%. The half wasn’t changed to cupronickel-clad until 1971. By that time nearly all silver versions regardless of composition had been hoarded or melted, effectively dooming the half as a circulating denomination.
P mint mark on back of dime on bottom by torch
@Joshua You didn’t provide your dime’s date – a very important piece of information. However from 1946 to 1964 Roosevelt dimes had their mint mark on the reverse side to the left of the torch’s base. The mint mark is almost certainly a D rather than a P because as the article notes, dimes made in Philadelphia didn’t use a P mint mark until 1980.
The good news is that all 1964 and earlier Roosevelt dimes were struck in 90% silver. At a minimum it’s worth its melt value, with a possible premium depending on its condition and mint mark.