I have a 1966 Dime without a mint mark?

Question

I read that an act during that time prevented any coins from those few years from having mint marks. When i first found this coin I thought it was a great mistake! Sadly it doesnt seem that way now, but is it worth anything or should I just spend it towards a cup of coffee at work?

Answer 1

I would keep it, in ten years, that could be worth a lot.

Answer 2

Towards a cup of coffee at work.

1966 dimes were issued in large numbers: nearly 1.4 *billion*!  They're not scarce in the slightest.  They contain copper-nickel, and their metal content is only worth about 2 cents, at current copper and nickel prices.

Many coins have been issued without mintmarks throughout US history, because they were minted at the nation's flagship mint, the Philadelphia Mint.  The only difference is that, for a few years in the 1960s, due to a temporary shortage of small change in circulation, coins minted at the Denver Mint (which would ordinarily have had a 'D' mintmark) were also issued without a mintmark.  That was one small measure to help keep people from collecting/hoarding these coins.

http://www.coinworld.com/news/012306/BW_...

"Collecting by Mint as well as date became so commonplace that Mint Director Mary Brooks blamed this practice of coin collectors for an entire nationwide coin shortage. She so convinced Congress that the mandate for Mint marks was temporarily removed and none appeared on coins dated 1965, 1966 or 1967."