1949 Roosevelt Dime

The 1949 Philadelphia Roosevelt dime carries a 30,940,000 mintage, the lowest Philadelphia output of any date between 1946 and the mid-1950s and a sharp 59% drop from the 74,950,000 figure of 1948. The Mint pulled output across all three facilities in 1949 as commercial banks reported sufficient coin reserves from the heavy 1946 first-year production and the consumer expansion of 1947 and 1948. The 1949 trio (Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco) sits in the second-lowest combined Roosevelt dime mintage of the silver era behind only the 1955 trio, and Philadelphia's contribution sets the date apart from neighbors at both ends of the run. The obverse carries Roosevelt's left-facing portrait by John R. Sinnock with IN GOD WE TRUST and LIBERTY, the small "JS" initials at the bust truncation, and the reverse pairs a vertical torch with an olive branch and an oak branch. No proofs were struck in 1949 because the Mint's proof program, suspended in 1942 for wartime conservation, did not resume until 1950.

The 1949 follows the silver-era specifications: 2.5 grams, 17.9 mm across, 90% silver and 10% copper, with a reeded edge. Authentication on a circulation strike begins with the weight check at roughly 2.45 to 2.55 grams in any reasonably preserved example, followed by inspection of the reeded edge for uniform spacing and examination of the obverse for the correct Sinnock relief depth at Roosevelt's temple and behind the ear. Strike quality on most 1949 Philadelphia coins is average to strong, with full torch detail on the majority of dies and softness occasionally seen on the central band lines and the olive branch leaf veins on late-state examples. The Full Bands (FB) designation, applied by PCGS and NGC to coins showing fully separated horizontal lines on the torch's central band, is the central condition-rarity overlay and is harder to find on the 1949 than on most other Philadelphia issues of the silver era.

The 1949 is classified Regular in the Roosevelt series but sits at the upper edge of the common-date tier because of the low Philadelphia output. PCGS and NGC populations are healthy through MS-65 but thin meaningfully at MS-67 FB and above, where the date becomes a genuine condition rarity for registry-set builders. Prices through circulated grades and MS-64 track silver melt with a modest premium; MS-66 FB and finer carry meaningful step-ups. For broader context, see the Roosevelt Dime series history.