Coin Value Contents Table
Dimes are 10c coins in the US. They sometimes puzzle foreigners because while other coins are labeled in cents or dollars (e.g. a Quarter Dollar or Half Dollar), the face value on a dime simply mentions its nickname. But the moniker is based on the decimal system, with di(s)me being an Old French word for tenth or tithe. Let’s learn more about the 2023 Dime Value.
2023 Dime Value Chart – Business Strike |
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| Coin | MS 64 | MS 65 | MS 66 | MS 67 |
| 2023-P Dime Regular Strike | $10 | $15 | $22 | – |
| 2023-D Dime Regular Strike | $10 | $12 | $16 | – |
2023 Dime Value Chart – Proofs |
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| Coin | Metal | Grade | Date of Sale | Price |
| 2023-S Clad Proof Dime | Cupronickel | PR 70 DCAM | – | – |
| 2023-S Silver Proof Dime | Silver | PR 70 DCAM | 30th August 2023 | $46 |
History of the 2023 Dime
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in 1945, there were tons of calls to memorialize him on a coin. As the only US President to ever last four terms – including wartime periods – he was well-loved. And although the public didn’t know it, he spent the bulk of that time in his wheelchair. This may have come from polio complications or an alleged auto-immune issue.
Either way, anti-polio activism was close to his heart and he launched initiatives including the March of Dimes, an organization that fights childhood polio. This informed the decision to honor him on the 10c coin aka the Dime. It was initially 90% Silver with 10% Copper to strengthen the metal. But after the 1960s coin shortage, it became a clad coin like all the rest.
In 2023, the US Mint made circulating clad coins, proof clad coins, and proof silver coins. The silver ones were 99.9% Silver with the negligible balance in copper. And today, the dime is the lowest denomination of profitable coins, since it costs about 5c to strike a clad dime. In comparison, it takes almost 3c to strike a zinc-copper penny and about 11c for a clad nickel.
The Arrival of the Roosevelt Dime
In 1890, the Coinage Act stated – among other things – that a coin couldn’t be redesigned without the approval of Congress unless it had circulated for at least 25 years. But as we said, FDR was immensely popular, having guided the nation through the Great Depression and the Second World War so the public was eager to give him his due on a business strike coin.
There was also a time crunch because the president died on 12th April 1945 and the powers that be wanted the coin to be ready by 30th January 1946, which would have been his 64th birthday. Another important was that the March of Dimes first ran during the week before his birthday back in 1938. At the time, FDR encouraged the public to donate 10c aka a dime.
A famous radio host, Eddie Cantor, came up with the nickname March of Dimes by playing on the march of time. Later, in 2007, this popular colloquial name was formally adopted by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. This organization was formed in 1927 by FDR and Basil O’Connor to battle polio in newborns, their mothers, and pregnant women.
The Need for a New Mascot
During his lifetime, FDR was so beloved that lots of people signed up for the cause. Among them were Hollywood royals who ran free ads before movies at the cinema. But after the film industry pulled out, organizers feared the fundraising efforts would dwindle. So they jumped onto the idea of putting FDR on the dime so the polio program would forever be tied to him.
That’s part of the reason they wanted the coin released post-humously on FDR’s birthday. In previous years, coins had been redesigned by commissioned artists like Adolph Weinman for the Mercury Dime. But the time limit had officials choosing to design this dime in-house. It fell to John R. Sinnock, the presiding Chief Mint Engraver. But he was ill and not doing well.
He began the task by generating some sketches for shortlisting and faced a lot of conflicting opinions about the final work. As his health got progressively worse, his assistant Gilroy Roberts stepped in to complete the task. Roberts later became the Chief Mint Engraver when Sinnock died, but his initials were not acknowledged or engraved on the dime he completed.
Controversies Surrounding the Roosevelt Dime
In the end, the FDR Dime proved so popular that it has been minted every year since 1946. Its first two decades saw it as a 90% Silver coin with 10% Copper. Then in 1965, it joined the cupronickel family in response to spiking silver spot prices. But let’s go back to the designers. Sinnock died in 1947 so he didn’t supervise the final stages of this coin. That fell to Roberts.
But two coins designed by Sinnock fell under suspicion of communist influence. His initials, JS and JRS were mistaken for tributes to Joseph Stalin. Furthermore, Sinnock was accused of plagiarism on both coins. It was believed he plagiarised sketches by John Frederick Lewis for the Half Dollar and Selma Burke for the Dime. The latter was an African-American artist.
She maintained her claim until her deathbed but no conclusive evidence ever surfaced. On the other hand, the plagiarism on the Franklin Half Dollar is widely known and admitted in coin circles. That said, despite all the drama surrounding it, the Roosevelt Dime has held its own in the public arena due to its practicality and style. It’s still a widely used denomination.
Features of the 2023 Dime
In describing a coin, numismatists use certain technical terms so let’s review the jargon. The obverse is the front or heads side of a coin while the reverse is the back or tails side. The thin side is called the edge and it sometimes has ridges called reeds. A retaining rim or collar is the raised border around the edge. The words are mottos or legends and devices are images.
The Obverse of the 2023 Dime
It shows Franklin Delano Roosevelt aka FDR, the 32nd US President. He faces left, with the legend Liberty in front of him. The motto In God We Trust is under his chin, and the initials JS for designer John Sinnock are below his neckline cut-off though most of the work was done by the uncredited Gilroy Roberts. They’re followed by the mint date and the mint mark.
The Reverse of the 2023 Dime
It shows an olive branch, a Freedom Torch, and an oak branch. The motto E Pluribus Unum runs between these three devices with a dot on either side. The upper rim of the coin has the legend United States of America while the bottom shows the denomination, One Dime. The two dots that flank the motto also serve to separate the top legend from the coin’s face value.
Other Features of the 2023 Dime
Circulating dimes and clad proof dimes are 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel. Their cores are pure copper plated with the cupronickel Johnson Sandwich of 75% copper and 25% nickel to effectively simulate a silver sheen. But silver proofs are 99.9% silver. Both types are 17.91mm in diameter with 118 reeds. The clad coins weigh 2.268g. The silver ones are heavier at 2.54g.
2023 Dime Value Guides
When you’re evaluating the resale value of a coin, you check its condition, strike, minting location, mint volumes, mint errors, and other factors. To describe the strike, you consider any special treatment for the device (i.e. the images), the field (i.e. the background of the coin), and the planchet (i.e. the blank disc that’s struck to produce a coin). Let’s dig deeper.
2023-P Dime Value
In 2023, the Philadelphia Mint made 1,410,500,000 Dimes with the P Mint Mark. They were business or regular strikes, meaning they were intended for everyday transactions. On 13th March 2024, an eBay vendor sold an MS 70 for $32, the highest recorded sale so far. PCGS has graded over a hundred coins as MS 66 and their estimated value is $22 in April 2024.
2023-D Dime Value
The Denver Mint struck 1,295,000,000 Dimes with the D Mint Mark. Like Philadelphia coins, they were circulating coins for use in daily trade. On 16th January 2024, an MS 66 FB sold for $10 on eBay. It’s still a young coin so sales records are sparse. But PCGS has received over 40 in MS 68, over 200 in MS 67, and over 100 in MS 66. The latter go for $16 in 2024.
2023-S Clad Proof Dime Value
The San Francisco Mint made two types of proof coins in 2023, including 364,573 Clad Proofs. These coins used the same blanks as circulating coins but they’re struck on burnished blanks using proof dies. These planchets are polished by tumbling them in drums filled with 6mm stainless steel beads. The burnishing gives them that extra shine before they’re struck.
The coins are then struck using proof dies to produce a mirror-like field and a frosted device. On coins produced after 1970, the frosting is done by computerized laser so almost all coins retain their Deep Cameo or Ultra Cameo finish, exhibiting the sharpest possible contrast between the field and the device. These coins all have the S Mint Mark from San Francisco.
This is still a young coin and clad proofs don’t necessarily do well on the secondary market. At the moment, the average resale price for a 2023-S Clad Proof Dime graded PR 65 DCAM is $2.88. But sales records are limited because many collectors are waiting for the coin to gain some vintage value. The current estimate is based on melt values for copper and nickel.
2023-S Silver Proof Dime Value
Silver Proof Dimes also have a mirror-like field and a frosted device, but they differ from clad proofs because they’re 99.9% silver. The San Francisco Mint produced 210,286 of them in 2023, all with the S Mint Mark. On 30th August 2023, a PR 70 DCAM sold for $46 on eBay. PCGS has graded almost 350 coins as PR 70 DCAM but the 2024 price estimates are unclear.
2023 Dime Grading
2023 Dimes are Roosevelt Dimes. So in addition to the usual grading points for clarity and quality, they’re sometimes labeled as FB for Full Bands (by PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service) or FT for Full Torch (by NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company). Both refer to the sharpness of the horizontal lines or bands on the Freedom Torch on the reverse.
Rare 2023 Dime Errors List
In modern times, it’s harder to find mint mistakes on coins. This is because they’re digitally designed and sculpted and computers add several extra layers of quality control. However, you can still find a few coin flaws that increase the resale value of coins. These include errors in lamination or plating and cuds or die breaks. Let’s explore some of the 2023 Dime Errors.
2023-P Dime Obverse Die Chip Error
Mint errors that have been verified by NGC, PCGS, or ANACS (America Numismatic Association Certification Service) are more valuable, but you can still sell self-diagnosed errors on eBay. This coin has die chips that occur when a die is reaching the end stages of its viability and needs replacing. The die chips are on FDR’s face, particularly eyes and mouth.
2023-P Dime Reverse Die Chip Error
As we explained above, older dies may develop cracks and gashes which then get transferred onto the coins. They’re called cud errors or die breaks, and on this coin, they appear on the reverse. You can see some cracks and dollops of excess metal around the stems of the oak and the olive. They’re likely die breaks but these low-value errors haven’t been certified yet.
2023-P Dime Potential Obverse Doubling
A few 2023-P Dimes have shown up with possible doubling. They haven’t been verified so it’s not clear whether they’re DDOs (doubled-die obverse) or mechanical doubling. But if you look at the coin with a jeweler’s loupe or coin microscope, there’s some apparent doubling on the mint date, mint mark, and legends. The reverse also seems to have some die breaks.
2023 Dime FAQs
What is a 2023 Dime Worth?
Since these coins are barely a year old, they’re not worth much yet. A 2023-S Silver Proof Dime sold for $46 on eBay, mainly due to the silver content. A 2023-S Clad Proof Dime goes for a little under $3 because the spot prices of copper and nickel give it some melt value. But the circulating 2023-P and 2023-D Dimes are only worth $15 to $20 on the resale market.
