2016-S Proof

San Francisco delivered 641,775 standard cupronickel-clad proof Roosevelt dimes in 2016 for inclusion in the regular annual proof set, a 3 percent pullback from the 662,854 2015-S clad figure. The 2016 proof set carried the America the Beautiful Quarters program's seventh-year five-coin set, the Native American Dollar with that year's reverse rotation, the Lincoln Shield cent, the Westward Journey nickel obverse, and the Roosevelt dime in a single package. The S mintmark sat sharp above the date, dies were hand-polished to mirror finish, and the clad planchet was struck at higher pressure on a slower press to produce the squared rims and frosted devices that distinguish proof from circulation finish. No commemorative-finish Roosevelt companion was issued for 2016, the year's design-anniversary commemorative attention belonged to the 1916 Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, and Walking Liberty half dollar centennial Gold issues rather than the Roosevelt denomination.

Authentication on a 2016-S clad proof rests on the standard finish diagnostics. Mirrored fields under 10x magnification show the deep reflective surface produced by hand-polished dies, the rim profile runs at a sharp ninety-degree transition to the field, and frosted devices appear on examples that earn Cameo and Deep Cameo designations from PCGS and NGC. Cameo, the grading designation that mirrored fields and frosted relief show clear contrast, and Deep Cameo, the same effect at heavier frost depth, carry the premium pricing at PR69 and PR70. Weight should read 2.268 grams on a calibrated scale; the 2.50-gram silver companion and its solid silver-color edge profile are the immediate composition diagnostics distinguishing this from the 2016-S Silver Proof.

The 2016-S clad sits in the lower-middle band of the mid-2010s clad-proof Roosevelt mintage range and trades at routine modern-proof pricing. PR69 DCAM is available at modest price levels, and PR70 DCAM forms the meaningful condition-rarity step where PCGS and NGC populations thin to registry-relevant levels. The 641,775-piece mintage carries no fundamental base-grade scarcity. Most surviving examples remain in original 2016 proof-set packaging; intact original packaging carries collector preference for the year's companion content. Collector demand for the dime concentrates on the PR70 DCAM tier and on full Cameo-DCAM date sets running through the modern era. For the modern San Francisco proof program, see the Roosevelt Dime series history.