1964 Dime Patterns

About This Coin

Produced during the final year of silver circulating coinage, the 1964 dime patterns occupy a historically charged position within the Modern Patterns series. The year marked the climax of the great silver coin shortage as rising silver prices made the metal value of dimes approach face value, prompting widespread hoarding. These pieces tested compositions for proposed changes as the Mint urgently sought alternatives to the 90% silver alloy serving since 1837. The Roosevelt dime's design was not the primary focus — rather, patterns concentrated on compositional alternatives leading to the copper-nickel clad coinage authorized by the 1965 Coinage Act. These patterns document the critical period when Congress debated the most significant composition change since abandoning large copper cents in 1857. The transition from silver to clad affected every American who handled coins, and the 1964 dime patterns preserve experimental work behind that transformation, testing specific alloys and manufacturing processes replacing nearly two centuries of silver dime production with the copper-nickel sandwich composition still in use today.