Why the 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime Is Worth So Much

Two coins. That is the entire known population of the 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime, and each one has sold for more money than most people make in five years. The 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime is a proof dime struck for collectors that somehow left the San Francisco Mint without the small "S" mintmark it was supposed to carry, and that tiny missing letter has turned an ordinary ten-cent coin into one of the most valuable modern coins in the country.

This is not a coin you will find in pocket change. It lives in the world of six-figure auction results, museum-grade coin holders, and family stories about a proof set that sat in a drawer for decades. Here is what makes it so rare, what it is worth today, and how to tell if the dime in your own collection has any chance of being the real thing.

What Is the 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime?

The 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime is a proof coin from a 1975 U.S. Mint proof set that is missing the "S" mintmark it should have carried from the San Francisco Mint. Every other proof dime made that year has the small S stamped near Roosevelt's neck on the front of the coin.

Proof coins are made with extra care for collectors, using polished dies and special planchets to create sharp, mirror-like surfaces. That care is exactly why this coin stands out. Skipping a mintmark on a mass-produced business strike dime is one thing. Skipping it on a proof coin, where every detail is supposed to be checked and rechecked, is something collectors almost never see.

How Rare Is the 1975 No-S Proof Dime?

Only two examples of the 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime have turned up and been verified by major grading services. Compare that to the 2,845,450 normal 1975-S proof dimes struck that year, and the scale of the rarity becomes clear.

That is not a typo. Out of nearly 2.85 million proof dimes made in 1975, only two are known to be missing the mintmark. Every other modern coin collectors call "rare" usually has at least a few dozen or a few hundred examples out there. This one has two.

How Much Is a 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime Worth?

A 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime has sold for as much as $506,250 at auction, with other confirmed sales at $349,600 and $456,000. These three sales, spread across 2011, 2019, and 2024, show a rarity that has only grown more valuable with time.

Compare that to a normal 1975-S proof dime, which is often worth only a few dollars in an original mint set unless it happens to grade in exceptional condition. The value gap has nothing to do with silver or copper content. It comes down to scarcity, demand from serious collectors, and the story behind the coin.

The Story Behind the Discovery

The history of the 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime reads like a coin collecting legend, because it basically is one.

1975;Proof dimes struck at San Francisco;Nearly 2.85 million proof dimes are made with the S mintmark as normal 1975;At least two dimes escape without the S;They are packaged into ordinary 1975 proof sets and sold to collectors Later 1970s-1990s;Coins sit unnoticed;The missing mintmark is easy to overlook without close comparison 2011;First public sale;$349,600 brings national attention to the error 2019;Same coin resells;$456,000 shows rising demand among collectors 2024;Second known example surfaces;Sells for $506,250 from a long-held family coin set

That 2024 sale is the part collectors love to tell. The coin had been sitting in a family's collection for years, tucked inside a proof set that looked like every other 1975 proof set on the shelf. Nobody thought to check it closely until someone finally did. That is the quiet reality of coin collecting: a life-changing coin can sit in a drawer for decades before anyone notices what it really is.

The same 1975 No-S dime sold for $349,600 in 2011 and then $456,000 when it changed hands again in 2019. That kind of jump in eight years shows how strong demand has stayed for this particular error.

For readers curious about the broader dime series and how it earned its design, the history behind the Roosevelt dime covers how the coin came to honor FDR in the first place.

What Makes a Proof Dime Different From a Circulation Dime?

A proof dime is struck for collectors using polished dies and extra pressure, giving it a sharp, mirror-like finish that a normal circulation dime never has. Circulation dimes are made for spending, struck once at high speed, and show a duller, more workmanlike surface.

Standard 1975 proof dimes were made from a clad composition of 75% copper and 25% nickel over a pure copper core, weighing 2.27 grams. That is the same composition used across the Roosevelt dime series once silver was removed from circulating dimes in the 1960s. If you want to compare that against an older 90% silver Roosevelt dime, 90% silver Mercury dimes from various mint years show how different the older coinage really was in terms of metal content.

The key difference for this specific error is simple: a normal 1975 dime with no mintmark, pulled from pocket change, is completely ordinary. Philadelphia-struck circulation dimes from that era never carried a mintmark at all, so a plain no-mintmark dime from daily use tells you nothing special. The rare coin has to be a proof strike from a 1975 proof set.

How Can You Tell If Your 1975 Dime Is the Rare One?

You can tell if your 1975 dime might be the rare No-S proof by checking three things: it must be a proof finish coin, it must come from a 1975 proof set, and it must be missing the S mintmark that every normal 1975-S proof dime carries.

• Confirm it is a proof coin, not a worn circulation strike, by looking for sharp, mirror-like fields and crisp design details
• Check that it came from an original 1975 proof set packaging, not a random dime found in change
• Look closely near Roosevelt's neck on the front of the coin, where the S mintmark should appear on every normal 1975-S proof dime
• Compare your coin side by side with a regular 1975-S proof dime to see the missing mintmark clearly
• Send the coin to a professional grading service before assuming it is genuine, since the two known examples have both been reviewed by major grading firms

If you have a proof set that looks like every other 1975 proof set, it is worth a second look before you assume it is ordinary. Most will be normal. But checking costs nothing and takes only a minute.

What Are the Biggest Myths About This Coin?

The biggest myth about the 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime is that any 1975 dime without a mintmark is valuable. That is false, and it is the single most common mistake new collectors make with this coin.

+A 1975 dime missing its mintmark could genuinely be one of the two known proof errors -Most 1975 dimes without a mintmark are simply normal Philadelphia circulation strikes, which never had a mintmark to begin with +A verified proof example has real six-figure value based on past sales -The coin's value comes from its rarity as a collector item, not from silver or copper content +Checking your coin against a known 1975-S proof dime takes only a side-by-side look -Assuming your coin is rare without checking almost always leads to disappointment

Other common misconceptions include the idea that there are "a few dozen" of these floating around collector circles, or that mint errors like this are always obvious to the naked eye. Neither is true. Only two examples are known, and the missing mintmark is subtle enough that it went unnoticed in at least one family's collection for years before anyone checked.

Why Doesn't Silver or Melt Value Matter Here?

Melt value plays almost no role in what a 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime is worth, because the coin's clad composition of copper and nickel carries very little metal value on its own. A modern clad dime like this is worth only a few cents in raw metal, even at today's prices.

At the time of writing, silver spot price sits at about $71 an ounce, and that number matters a great deal for older 90% silver dimes from before 1965. It has no bearing at all on the value of a 1975 proof dime, clad or otherwise, because this coin's price is driven entirely by scarcity and collector demand, not the metal it is made from. For readers interested in dimes where melt value does matter, what silver Roosevelt dimes are worth today breaks down how spot price affects older silver issues.

Why Do Small Mint Errors Command Such Big Prices?

Small mint errors command large prices when they happen on coins that are supposed to be checked carefully, and when very few examples survive. The 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt Dime checks both boxes.

Proof coins go through extra inspection compared to regular circulation coins, which makes any mistake on a proof issue far more surprising to collectors. Add to that a population of just two known coins, and you get a rarity that competes with far older classic coins for auction attention. Collectors are not just buying a dime. They are buying one of only two known examples of a mistake that should not have happened at all.

The broader Roosevelt dime series has a few other no-mintmark stories worth knowing about, but none carry the same weight as the 1975 proof error. It remains one of the standout modern errors ever pulled from a U.S. Mint proof set, and it is a good reminder that rare coins are not only found in old, worn-out collections. Sometimes they are hiding in a plastic proof set from the 1970s that nobody thought twice about.

If you are curious about other coin values, error varieties, or how grading affects price, our coin and bullion knowledge base covers a wide range of topics for collectors just getting started.

If you are chasing rare Roosevelt dimes or building out a broader coin collection, take a look at what we currently have in our coin inventory. And if you think you might be holding onto an old proof set, silver coins, or other collectible pieces you would like to sell, you can mail them in through our mail-in precious metals service from anywhere in the country, or stop by in person if you are local to Salem, Oregon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. PCGS - 1975 No-S Proof Dime Realizes $506,250 at GreatCollections
2. PCGS - CoinFacts, 1975 10C No S
3. CoinWeek - 1975 No-S Roosevelt Dime: A Collector's Guide
4. Heritage Auctions - 1975 10C No S PR68 PCGS
5. Coinage Magazine - 1975 No-S Roosevelt Dime Sells for Nearly Half Million Dollars
6. PCGS - How to Tell If Your 1975 Dime Is Valuable

Featured image courtesy of PCGS