The 1964 Silver Crisis: Assessing the Value of High-Grade 1964 and 1964-D Silver Dimes
The year 1964 is a very important date in the history of American coin making, marking the final year when dimes having 90% silver inside were put into public use.
Starting in 1965, the United States stopped using silver completely in its ten-cent and twenty-five-cent coins, switching to a new material known as a copper-nickel clad mix.
This big change was necessary because of the "Silver Crisis", forcing the government to change the coin's metal content, stopping people from taking coins out of circulation because they wanted the silver metal.
Understanding this specific crisis and the technical details of the 1964 coin production is necessary for correctly judging the high value of these coins today with and without coin-identifier.com.
Causes of the Silver Crisis and Economic Pressure
The Silver Crisis, reaching its most difficult point in the early 1960s, started because of a basic difference between the fixed price of silver, a price the government used for making coins, and the quickly rising market price of the same metal used in industry.
For example, a silver dime worth 10 cents had only 7 cents worth of silver in it. But, during the 1960s, industry started needing much more silver for things like photos, electronics, and other areas, causing the market price of silver to increase very quickly.
By 1963 and 1964, the market price of silver reached a critical point where the actual value of the silver inside the coin was the same as or even more than the coin’s face value.
This massive action of people taking coins started to harm the stability of daily trade. Coins were disappearing from stores and businesses, making a shortage and making it hard to conduct simple sales.
The United States government needed to take fast action, trying to stop the complete failure of the small payment system.
The Coinage Act of 1965 and the Change in Metal
To fight this crisis and stop people from hoarding coins, the United States Congress passed a new law called the Coinage Act of 1965. This law made huge changes to the metals used in American coins.
Starting in 1965, the dimes and quarters no longer held any silver metal. They began to be made from a new material: a center made of pure copper, covered with a mix of 75% copper, 25% nickel.
The general look of the coin stayed the same, but its value as metal dropped greatly, having no more precious metal inside — this change immediately removed the economic reason for melting, as the metal value of the new coin became much lower than the 10-cent face value.
It is important to remember that the 1964 coins were the last ones made using the old, 90-percent silver rule. This fact makes them important items for coin collectors and investors wanting to own the final coins of this historical type.
Details of the 1964 and 1964-D Coin Production
In 1964, the U.S. Mint factories, including Philadelphia and Denver, made a very large number of dimes. The government knew about the coming crisis, wanting to put as many coins into use as possible before the metal change had to happen.
High Mintage
1964 (Philadelphia): The total number of dimes made was around 930 million coins
1964-D (Denver): The total number of dimes made was around 1.357 billion coins
These numbers are some of the highest ever for silver dimes. It is a strange fact, even with these billions of coins made, finding a 1964 coin in perfect condition, never having been used, is harder than you might think. The reasons for this situation are the following:
Massive Hoarding: A huge number of these coins were quickly taken out of use in 1965 and 1966, immediately when the news about ending silver coinage became known.
People put these coins into bags, keeping them in basements and banks. Many of these coins were later melted, or they are still being stored today as a private silver stock.
Wear and Tear: The coins that did stay in use quickly showed signs of wear from daily handling.
Therefore, the high cost of the 1964 and 1964-D dimes is not mainly because they are rare in quantity, but because they are rare in perfect condition.
Factors for Valuing High-Quality Dimes
Judging the value of 1964 and 1964-D dimes depends mostly on their coin collector value, a value much higher than their metal value. The most important things making the price change are:
Grade
For the coin market, only coins in "Mint State" (MS), meaning coins never used in trade, hold great value. The Sheldon scale in the coin identification app, running from MS-60 to MS-70, is used for judging conditions.
MS-60: A coin not used, but showing many scratches or poor making quality
MS-65: A coin having no visible damage with great shine and only a few tiny scratches. This is the minimum level for a highly valued coin
MS-67 and Higher: Each step up above MS-65 can make the price go up ten or even one hundred times, because these coins are perfect examples of the coin-making process
The Full Bands Mark
This is the most important technical rule for valuing Roosevelt dimes, making a huge difference in the coin's price.
The picture on the back of the Roosevelt dime shows a torch (fasces) with horizontal ribbons going across it. During the coin-making process, especially when making so many coins, these ribbons often look unclear or squashed because the pressure was too low or the coin mold (die) was old.
"Full Bands" (FB) or "Full Torch" (FT): This is a special mark given only to coins where all the horizontal lines on the torch's ribbons are complete, sharp, and clearly separated.
A 1964-D coin with an MS-65 grade but no FB mark might cost, for example, 40 dollars
The same 1964-D coin with an MS-65 grade, but having the FB (Full Bands) mark, might cost 200 dollars or more
The large difference in price happens because finding a coin with perfect ribbons in high condition is not just luck, but the result of a fresh coin mold and the right pressure used during making, and should be checked by a coin scanner initially.
Color
Color is important for silver coins, but to a lesser extent than for copper pennies, and, nevertheless, for Roosevelt dimes in perfect condition, their appearance is important, including the bright, original shine of silver without dark spots.
Comparing 1964 Philadelphia and 1964-D Denver Dimes
Even though the Denver mint made more dimes than Philadelphia, their coin collector value is generally very similar. However, small technical facts change how rare they are in the highest grades.
The Denver Mint (1964-D) often had issues with making quality, using older coin molds or lower pressure. This means:
1964-D FB: Finding a 1964-D dime with the "Full Bands" mark in a high grade is much harder than finding a similar 1964 coin from Philadelphia. Therefore, in the highest grades, the 1964-D coin usually costs more because it is technically rarer.
1964 FB: Philadelphia dimes were generally made with slightly better quality, making them more often found in MS-66 and MS-67 grades with the FB mark.
Coin collectors always use Population Reports from companies that professionally grade coins. These reports show exactly how many coins of that year and mint mark have been judged at that specific grade.
The lower the number of coins in the report, the higher the price will be.
Conclusion
The value of the 1964 and 1964-D dimes is set not by the total number made, but by their perfect condition and the technical quality of their making remaining today.
However, the very high prices are only for coins in perfect, never-used condition, a condition confirmed by the professional mark "Full Bands".
Thus, valuing these coins is not about judging the silver price, but about judging the rarity of their perfection, happening just before the historical change from silver to clad coinage, a change forced by the Silver Crisis.