2009-D Roosevelt Dime : A Collector and Value Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

Demand for circulating coins dropped precipitously in 2008 as the entire banking sector, racked by defaults, sought government help to remain solvent. The nation’s unemployment rate hit 10% by the end of the year, and the Obama Administration could not get Congressional support for some of the programs it hoped to include in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 but was able to secure an astonishing $831 billion to shore up the economy and avoid sending the global financial system into a depression.

By late spring 2009, the stock of undistributed coins had reached such a level that, on April 23, the United States Mint announced that it would suspend the coinage of Jefferson Nickels and Roosevelt Dimes through the end of the calendar year, citing a lack of orders from the Federal Reserve. By the end of March, the Mint had 36 million nickels at Philadelphia and 33.36 million at Denver – along with 78.5 million and 41.5 million dimes at Philadelphia and Denver, respectively.

The total mintage of the 2009-D Roosevelt Dime would stand at 49,500,000, giving the issue the lowest mintage of any made-for-circulation Roosevelt Dime in the clad era (not counting the 1996-W, as it was struck for collectors) and the lowest dime mintage overall since 1958.

The 1958 Roosevelt Dime may have the advantage of its 90% silver composition. Still, the 2009-D has the benefit of not being included in that year’s Mint Sets, meaning that there may be fewer Mint State survivors of this date than any other clad dime in the series. We would not be surprised to learn that there are more Mint State 1996-W dimes than 2009-Ds.

The 2009-D Roosevelt Dime in Today’s Market

A limited number of 2009-D Roosevelt Dimes have been submitted to the leading grading services for encapsulation. The certified population does not represent a significant sampling of the number of coins extant or their typical grade. At the very high end of the grading spectrum, these coins seldom trade, but eBay auctions occur a few times a month. The typical coin grades MS66FT or MS67FT, second-tier grades for those pursuing competitive registry sets.

$5 coin rolls remain plentiful but sell for about $30 today, or six times face value. Individual coins routinely sell for $2 to $3, which leaves us to believe that rolls are your best bet.

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2009-D Roosevelt Dime Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS68FB (2, 4/2025), NGC MS67FT (80, 4/2025), and CACG N/A (4/2025).

• NGC MS67FT: eBay, February 7, 2025 – $24. Buy It Now.
• NGC MS66FT: eBay, February 9, 2025 – 17.95. 1 Bid.

2009-D Roosevelt Dime Specimen Strikes

The United States Mint issues annual Mint Sets for collectors. These contain one of each circulating coin struck that year. However, from 2005 to 2010, these sets contained coins that were not struck for circulation but instead in a satin finish similar to its American Silver Eagle burnished coins. Because these are not strictly circulation strikes, numismatists consider the Mint Set coins from this period to be Specimen Strikes or Special Mint Set coins.

The 2009-D SMS Roosevelt Dime is struck in premium blanks and is carefully handled and packaged. Because of this, the typical examples grade MS67FB/FT or better.

Top Population: PCGS MS69FB (367, 4/2025), NGC MS69FT (2, 4/2025), and CACG MS69FT (1, 4/2025).

• NGC MS68FT: eBay, January 14, 2025 – $10. Buy It Now.
• NGC MS68FT: eBay, January 11, 2025 – 15. Buy It Now.

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Design

Obverse:

Most of the obverse design consists of a left-facing bust of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the northwest quadrant, directly in front of Roosevelt’s face, is the word LIBERTY. Below the president’s chin, in smaller letters, is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. Directly below the neck truncation on the bust are the designer’s initials JS. Placed at a slightly higher line than the motto and to the designer’s initials right is the date 2009. Unlike earlier dimes struck before 1967 with the mintmark on the lower reverse to the left of the torch, the D mintmark is on the obverse above the date 2009.

Reverse:

Centered in the reverse design is a flaming torch symbolizing liberty. The torch sits between the olive branch of peace on the left and the oak branch of victory on the right. Split into four parts between the branches and torch is the USA’s traditional motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Since the words are divided as follows, E PLU / RIB / US U / NUM, there are centering dots between each word. This central design is surrounded by the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA at the top and the slightly larger denomination ONE DIME at the bottom.

Edge:

The edge of the 2009-D 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. He is responsible for the designs of both the Roosevelt dime and the Franklin Half Dollar. Sinnock engraved the 1926 Sesquicentennial American Independence Half Dollar and gold $2.5, and he also helped sculpt the Army’s modern Purple Heart Medal in 1932 for soldiers wounded in combat.

Coin Specifications

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