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Very few 1978 Roosevelt Dimes carry the strike details necessary to qualify for a Full Bands designation. Click image to enlarge.

Late-20th-century business strikes hailing from the United States Mint often leave collectors wanting just a little bit more when it comes to strike quality. That might be why modern series such as the Roosevelt Dime prove to be deceptively challenging for PCGS Set Registry collectors – the kind of numismatists for whom primo strike reigns supreme.

Perhaps surprisingly, there are several dates in the Roosevelt Dime series that are exceedingly difficult to locate with full band detail on the torch. An example bearing these details can qualify for Full Bands designation by PCGS – a coveted endorsement for any Roosevelt Dime collector. This is especially so for dimes of the 1970s, a period marked by generally mushier strikes that preclude most Roosevelt Dimes of the era from attaining a Full Bands grade designation.

Enter the 1978 Roosevelt Dime from the Philadelphia Mint. The coin hails from a city known as “the cradle of liberty,” a place that was still basking in the patriotic afterglow of numerous Bicentennial ceremonies two years earlier in 1976; most Philly dimes of the era could have been strutting every last detail with pride as they jingled in pockets from sea to shining sea. But that simply wasn’t to be. Tight production schedules and strong demand for new coins meant dies were often put to the test and presses calibrated with an eye for efficiency. This resulted in many coins of the era, including Roosevelt Dimes to enter circulation absent full detail. In fact, to date, just one 1978 Philadelphia Roosevelt Dime carried strike quality sufficient for earning the “FB” designation, a grade suffix rendered by minting fates nearly elusive for many dimes of the era.

A single 1978 Philadelphia Roosevelt Dime is graded PCGS MS64FB, a fact that might be made even more fascinating when considering that more than 663 million dimes were emitted from the Philly Mint in 1978. To be exact, the 1978 Roosevelt Dime’s mintage was 663,980,000. How can only one of those dimes have the Full Bands details necessary to qualify for the FB designation? While there may be others out there, only a lone specimen has made its way to PCGS with the goods necessary to take home the prestigious FB title for its proud owner.