1981-P Roosevelt Dime
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 676,650,000 made
- Mintage
- 676,650,000
- Metal
- Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel
- Weight
- 2.268 g
- Diameter
- 17.91 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1981-P Roosevelt Dime worth?
Worn examples are worth face value and can be spent. Keep it only if it looks uncirculated or shows a known variety.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Full torch bands (FT)
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1981-P Roosevelt Dime rare?
- No. 677 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1981-P Roosevelt Dime silver?
- No. It's copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel. Dimes dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1981 Roosevelt Dime?
- On the obverse, just above the date. "P" appears from 1980. On this coin the mark is P, for Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1981 are scarcer?
- The 1979 at 315,440,000, the 1982-P at 519,475,000, the 1976 at 568,760,000, plus 2 more. So the 1981-P is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1981-P Roosevelt Dime coins were made?
- 676,650,000.
What to check on your 1981-P
- Make sure the mint mark really is a P. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1981-D (712 million made).
- A face that's fully copper colored could be a missing clad layer error. Patchy discoloration is usually damage.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the horizontal bands on the torch on the reverse. "Full Bands" (FB) coins, where the bands are complete and separated, carry big premiums. On the obverse look at Roosevelt's hair above the ear.
With 677 million made, the 1981-P still turns up in everyday change. Keep yours only if it looks uncirculated or shows a variety; otherwise it's worth face value.
The story of the 1981-P
At 676,650,000, the 1981 run at Philadelphia was close to the 1980 figure. The next year it made 519 million (1982-P).
1981-D came to 712 million, so neither mint's 1981 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Philadelphia struck the Roosevelt Dime in 80 issues between 1946 and 2025. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1955 (12,450,181). Within the 1980s it's 7th smallest of 20, between the 1987-D (653 million) and the 1986-P (683 million).
Mint marks move above the date (1968 to 1991)
In 1968 the mint mark moved to the obverse just above the date. San Francisco began striking proof dimes for collectors the same year. A few proof dies left the Mint without the S, creating the rare no-S proofs dated 1968, 1970, 1975 and 1983. The 1975 is one of the great modern rarities with only two examples known. Proof sets of 1979 and 1981 show two mint mark styles: a filled Type 1 S and a clearer Type 2 S that is scarcer.
Philadelphia added a P mint mark to the dime in 1980. Two years later a Philadelphia die missing its P reached circulation. The 1982 no-P dime became one of the most popular modern errors. Business strike mintages stayed in the hundreds of millions per mint and passed one billion at Philadelphia in 1988. Dimes from these years turn up in change constantly. Only well-struck uncirculated pieces, proof varieties and errors draw real collector interest.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1981
Susan B. Anthony dollars were made only for collector sets, ending the design until a final run in 1999.
How to recognize it
Franklin Roosevelt faces left with LIBERTY in front of him, IN GOD WE TRUST below his chin and the date at the lower right. The designer's initials JS sit below the neck. The reverse shows a torch flanked by an olive branch and an oak branch, with E PLURIBUS UNUM across the field. The mint mark was to the left of the torch base until 1964 and has been above the date since 1968.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Roosevelt Dime (1946–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | "P" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 676,650,000 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | Copper core clad in 75% copper / 25% nickel |
| Weight | 2.268 grams |
| Diameter | 17.91 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | John R. Sinnock |
Other 1981 Roosevelt Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-P Roosevelt Dime | 676,650,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1981-D Roosevelt Dime | 712,284,143 | Circulation strike | – |
Mintage: Roosevelt dime mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.