1979-D

The 1979-D Roosevelt Dime came out of the Denver Mint at 390,921,184 pieces, a moderate Denver output that ran slightly above the Philadelphia coinage for the year. The D mintmark sits below the date on the obverse in its standard position, with the design carried forward unchanged from the long-running Sinnock obverse and the torch-and-branches reverse. Copper-nickel clad on a copper core, 2.268 grams, 17.91 millimeters, reeded edge. The 1979-D ran as a routine clad-era business strike with no design or specification change from surrounding years and no documented major business-strike varieties.

Authentication is straightforward. Weight and dimension should hold to standard, the reddish copper-core edge should be visible under magnification at the rim, and the D mintmark should be sharp and well-formed. Weak or filled mintmarks reflect ordinary die wear on this date, not anything more interesting. Full Bands (FB) on the torch reverse is the strike diagnostic, with both horizontal torch bands required to be fully separated and sharply struck. Denver dimes from the late 1970s strike with reasonably consistent quality, and FB rates on the 1979-D run at a workable level. Bag marks across Roosevelt's cheek and minor planchet flaws from the high-volume blanking process are the typical condition limiters at the upper Mint State grades.

Circulated 1979-D dimes trade at face. Bank rolls and original 1979 mint sets continue to surface, keeping lower Mint State material widely available at modest premiums. MS66 is common, MS67 is where prices begin to lift, MS67FB is the registry tier, and MS68FB pieces are scarce enough to bring real money at major sales when properly certified with clean original surfaces and full strike. The hunt on this date is for strike combined with bag-mark-free preservation rather than for outright survival, since the Denver output and mint set distribution produced ample lower-grade material. For broader context on the late-1970s Denver clad production, see the Roosevelt Dime series history.