An ode to my all time favorite coin, the 1996-W Dime.
The_Dinosaur_Man
Posts: 1,603 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've been a collector for nearly twenty-five years, I've worked in a few coin shops and with an auction house, I've spent time buying and selling on behalf of those entities and now for myself going solo. I have had the pleasure and opportunity to work with everything from common pocket change to Proof Pre-33 gold, world coins and ancient coins, and coins ranging in value up to six figures. This is not a brag or a boast, just the underline why this one coin is my favorite.
After getting my first Red Book in 2003, this coin stood out from the regular issues while blending right in with the standard listings. The "W" was different, and there being a footnote explaining its modest significance was eye-catching to my young eyes. And the price point of $10 to $15 was inexpensive enough for me to go out to my local coin shop and buy an example. I framed it shortly thereafter.
The coin is still valued at that $10 to $15 range. Some examples may get up to $25, but even then they remain affordable. Where this coin has its most value, in my opinion, is it serves as the perfect gateway coin to bring someone deeper into the hobby. Let me explain.
The 1996-W dime was struck to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the design. There were no changes to the design, date, or composition to mark the occasion, just that W mintmark. Until that point, the West Point Mint was reserved for bullion, collectible bullion, and commemorative issues containing precious metal. A deeper study reveals the Mint did strike quarters and cents for circulation in the 1970s and 1980s, but these do not bear the W mintmark. Rather, collectors would have to wait until 2019 to receive the first W-Mint coin in circulation that was actually intended for circulation and not special packaging. Which brings us back to the 1996 Mint set that these dimes originally came in.
Collectors and dealers alike understand that 1996 Mint sets are not complete without this coin, which separates it from the 2019 and 2020 sets that also came with a bonus W Mint coin and yet do not require the bonus item on the secondary market. Without the 1996-W dime, the 1996 Mint set loses all of its value.
And then there are the coin albums from Whitman, Dansco, Littleton, and my own line. There is almost always a spot for the 1996-W dime. And because it is a copper-nickel business strike, it practically gets lost among the P and D issues when looking back at a completed set. But if the collector or dealer knows it is supposed to be there, that is one of the first spots they will check out in the album.
If you further compare the 1996-W Roosevelt Dime to later anniversary issues, it becomes all the more simple and humble. The Kennedy Half Dollar had its golden anniversary in 2014, and from that year there are eleven different half dollars across the four mints, the various compositions and finishes, and don't forget the gold issue. Two years later, the Mint recreated the Mercury Dime, the Standing Liberty Quarter, and the Walking Liberty Half Dollar, all in gold and all struck at West Point. Five years after that, the Morgan and Peace Dollar designs were resurrected as an ongoing commemorative series. The Mint is really showing off with these other anniversary coins.
And yet, the 1996-W dime remains as you see it. A humble, almost forgettable commemorative in copper-nickel with a simple change of mintmark and manner of release. And best of all, it remains affordable for just about every collector.
Happy collecting!
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Comments
I sold off all my copper- nickel proof and mint sets about 6 years ago as they were taking up too much space.
For some reason, the 1996-W dime is the only coin of that group that I've ever thought about and missed. So I agree that, for whatever reason, it's special.
I like that one as well.... I have two of them .
Great story/memory. The W mint coins, both those intended for circulation, the 2019/2020 quarters, as well as those that are regular type coins, though not intended for circulation the 2019 cents and nickels and the 2015 proof dime, and the 1996 dime are special to me, and as you said this one was the first, and without a special finish, just a humble marking of the anniversary.
I think by some counts the 2014 Kennedy had 13 variations to mark it's anniversary. The W mint of those I include, as above. I guess the W mint mark is still different enough on the coins we are used to in circulation, that they are some of my favorites.
A cooI coin! I wonder whether or not anyone has found one of these in circulation.
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Well said and I agree that the 1996-W is simple yet quite special!
Im glad I got mine as well
I've never owned and now after reading this thread, I want to.
I dropped a 1996-W dime off the Tallahatchie Bridge.
Nice story......
I've always had a soft spot for this dime too. Some years ago, I was tempted to put away a pile of them. I'm glad I didn't, but I still like them. I don' currently own one......
Billy Joe went after it.
Time to get one
I've never found one but I've found tougher and I've heard several reports of them being found.
Many people treat all clad as common garbage and spend it. Dealers pop coins out of sets and put them in the cash register. The packet with the dime can get separated from the set and no one know what it is. It's very easy for circulation coinage to get into circulation inadvertently.
I dig 'em!
I have a few in mint sets and here is my slabbed example.
Your enjoyment of a simple coin is heart warming to this collector.
It doesn't have to be a moon money coin in either case to enjoy, your right 😉
Luckeh!
You got the FB designation.
I like the 1-off coins like this, and the 2019,2020 cents and nickels.
I got 2 of them and had them graded. MS67s but alas no FB, probably due to the bottom band. The other is iffy on both bands.
Picked up a graded pair from Teletrade back then for one of my kids.
I remember when that coin was released right as I was getting into collecting as a kid. At a time when just about any coin was too expensive for my budget, a cool mint mark like W wasn’t even a consideration. And then there was this inexpensive option. It took a little while to find a mint set (it predates me buying anything online), but on some family outing to the outlets in Flemington, NJ, I popped into the local shop in town and sure enough, they had a set. I’m guessing it was around 8 bucks, though I couldn’t tell you why I think that. Nonetheless, the coin made me happy then. I still have it, and it still makes me happy. It doesn’t need to be graded, and the original set packaging is just fine. The W still has a sense of wonderment for me, albeit I now have a few other coins worth a lot more that wear it. But the dime was the first one, and it’ll always be special.