1952-D

The 1952-D Roosevelt dime is the Denver strike of the seventh-year date and carries a 122,100,000 mintage, the highest Denver output of any Roosevelt date to that point and a 116% increase over the 56,529,000 figure of 1951. The surge reflected Federal Reserve working-stock orders responding to sustained Korean War retail commerce, with Denver moving ahead of Philadelphia in single-mint output for the year. The "D" mintmark sits on the reverse to the left of the torch base, the branch-mint position John R. Sinnock had engraved into the master dies before the design went to press in 1946. The obverse carries Roosevelt's left-facing portrait with IN GOD WE TRUST and LIBERTY, and Sinnock's "JS" initials at the bust truncation; the reverse pairs the vertical torch with an olive branch and an oak branch reading as liberty, peace, and strength.

The 1952-D follows the silver-era specifications: 2.5 grams, 17.9 mm diameter, 90% silver and 10% copper, with a reeded edge. Authentication on a circulation Denver strike begins with the weight check at roughly 2.45 to 2.55 grams in any reasonably preserved example. The "D" mintmark should be cleanly punched without remnant of another letter beneath it, and although added-mintmark fakes are not a meaningful concern on this common-date issue, the diagnostic remains part of any careful Roosevelt examination. Strike quality at Denver in 1952 is typically strong with crisp torch flame and well-defined branch detail, though the high production volume occasionally produced softness on late-die-state examples. The Full Bands (FB) designation, applied to coins showing fully separated horizontal lines on the torch's central band, is achievable at MS-66 FB with good frequency on this date.

The 1952-D is classified Regular in the Roosevelt series, trading at small premiums over silver melt through Mint State grades. PCGS and NGC populations are deep through MS-66 FB and step up at MS-67 FB, where the date remains accessible despite the high original mintage. MS-68 FB is the realistic ceiling for the issue, where the 1952-D becomes a genuine condition rarity. For broader context, see the Roosevelt Dime series history.