1986-D

Denver delivered 473,326,970 Roosevelt dimes in 1986, the lowest D-mint output of the 1980-1991 stretch and the smallest Denver production figure since the 1972 to 1973 trough. The reduced order followed the same Federal Reserve cutback that pulled Philadelphia output down that year, and Denver bore a slightly larger share of the contraction than its Pennsylvania counterpart. The D mintmark sat in its established position above the date, clad specification stayed at 2.268 grams on a 17.91-millimeter planchet of cupronickel bonded to a pure copper core, and the reeded edge struck up to standard sharpness. Within the broader 1986 production picture, the D-mint is the scarcer of the two business-strike issues, though the difference in survival counts at common grades is modest enough to disappear into routine year-set pricing.

Authentication on the 1986-D follows the standard clad-dime protocol: weight confirmation against the 2.268-gram specification, mintmark inspection at 10x for sharp definition above the date, and Full Bands evaluation on the central torch reverse. Full Bands, the third-party grading designation indicating complete horizontal separation of the two parallel torch bands at the midpoint, is recoverable on 1986-D in well-struck Mint State examples but runs softer than on the cleaner 1987-D and 1988-D production. Strike quality across the date is acceptable rather than excellent, and FB premiums hold up at MS66 and finer accordingly. No major business-strike die varieties carry premium attribution.

The 1986-D survives in heavy quantity through MS66 and trades at standard type-coin levels at and below that grade. The price ladder steps up at MS66 FB and accelerates at MS67 FB and finer, where PCGS and NGC population reports thin enough to support registry-grade competition. Original Mint sets and bank-wrapped rolls remain the practical sources for upgrade-grade material, since the date entered circulation broadly and was not set aside in collector quantities the way later 1980s issues sometimes were. The somewhat lower production figure relative to surrounding D-mint years has not produced a meaningful base-grade premium, and the date remains a routine fill in modern Roosevelt date sets. For Denver's role through the late 1980s, see the Roosevelt Dime series history.