2000 Roosevelt Dimes 1965 to Date PR69DCAM

History

John R. Sinnock, then Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, created the Roosevelt dime design in 1946, with his assistant Gilroy Roberts completing much of the work. Sinnock submitted several models, and the project involved exchanges with Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross and the Commission of Fine Arts, which at one point suggested opening the design to competition. The denomination was struck in 90 percent silver through 1964 and in copper-nickel clad over a pure copper core from 1965 forward, with mint marks omitted entirely from 1965 through 1967 and placed on the obverse above the date beginning in 1968. In 2000 the Mint struck two proof versions of the Roosevelt dime, the clad piece sold in the annual proof set and a 90 percent silver companion.

Details

The obverse and reverse are both Sinnock's work. San Francisco produced the issue, with the S mint mark on the obverse above the date, in an alloy of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel bonded to a pure copper center, weighing 2.27 grams at a diameter of 17.90 millimeters. Reported mintages range from 3,082,483 to 3,082,572, the spread reflecting the difference between the coin figure and reported sales of the ten-coin proof set that contained it, the only form in which the dime was distributed.

Features

Roosevelt faces left on the obverse, accompanied by LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST, and the date. The reverse centers a torch flanked by an olive branch and an oak branch, with E PLURIBUS UNUM, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and the denomination. DCAM, or Deep Cameo, denotes heavily frosted devices set against deeply mirrored fields, and NGC applies the term Ultra Cameo to the same appearance. By 2000 Mint proof quality was consistent enough that deep cameo contrast is the normal condition for the date rather than a premium attribute, so the grading distinction that affects value is PR69 against PR70.

Notable facts

• PCGS catalogs the clad proof as #95290 under Roosevelt Dime Type 2, Clad, while the 2000-S silver proof carries #95291 and is filed with the 1950 to 1964 silver series.
• The 2000-S silver proof dime has a mintage of 965,421 and weighs 2.50 grams in an alloy of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
• The highest recorded auction price for the clad issue is $575 for a PR70 in July 2004, exceeding the $490 brought by a silver PR70 in August 2011 despite the clad mintage being roughly three times larger.
• The edge carries 118 reeds.
• The missing mint mark proof dimes that command large premiums in this series date from the late 1960s through the 1980s, and no such error is known for 2000.