1 Dime 'Roosevelt Dime'

The clad composition was a direct consequence of the Coinage Act of 1965, which eliminated silver from the dime entirely after rising bullion prices made the previous 90% silver alloy worth more as metal than as currency. Congress passed the act under significant pressure from the Treasury, which had watched silver coins disappear from circulation at an accelerating rate through the early 1960s — hoarded by the public and melted by speculators. President Johnson signed it in July 1965 and publicly lamented the end of silver coinage while insisting the new coins would serve just as well.

The transition created brief but intense public resistance, with vending machine and transit industries requiring extensive retooling to accommodate the different electromagnetic signature of clad coinage.