1981-D

The 1981-D Roosevelt dime came out of the Denver Mint at 712,284,143 pieces, a heavy production figure that slightly exceeded the Philadelphia output for the same year and continued the early-1980s pattern of substantial Denver dime production. The D mintmark had been a continuous feature of Denver Roosevelt production since 1946, and 1981 brought no design or varietal changes to the Denver coin. Standard clad specification applied across the board: 2.27 grams, 17.9 millimeters, cupronickel outer cladding bonded to a pure copper core, and reeded edge struck in coin alignment with the reverse rotated 180 degrees relative to the obverse.

Authentication checks the D mintmark for sharpness above the date and confirms standard weight against the 2.27 gram clad specification. The Roosevelt portrait should show clean facial detail and hairline definition on well-struck Mint State examples, and Full Bands designation on the torch reverse requires complete horizontal separation of the torch bands, the same standard applied across every clad-era D dime. No major varieties are documented for this issue at the principal attribution levels, and Denver strike quality on 1981 production was generally consistent across the year with no widespread die-state issues reported by specialist dealers handling Mint State roll inventory.

The 1981-D survives in enormous quantity across all circulated grades and through MS66 in Mint State from original Mint sets, dealer rolls, and broken bag stock. The price action concentrates at MS67 Full Bands and finer, where the certified population is smaller and registry-grade competition supports condition-rarity premiums; the meaningful gains tier at MS68 Full Bands when graded examples reach that level. Below MS67 the date is an inexpensive type entry and pairs naturally with the 1981-P in date-set assembly. The 1981-D shows no fundamental scarcity at any common grade and represents the established mid-clad-era production pattern. For Denver's role across the post-1980 P-mintmark era, see the Roosevelt Dime series history.