Owner Comments:
The San Francisco Mint produced nearly 23 million Roosevelt dimes dated 1954. And even though mint state examples survive in the hundreds of thousands, the 1954-S has survival estimate comparable to other dates like the 1950-S that are generally considered semi-key dates.
The 1954-S in this collection is a nice satin white on both sides but has a very distraction spot of discoloration on the obverse SW of Roosevelt's chin.
Despite this spot, this dime has a great strike with no significant hairlines or spread in any of the lettering and very fine details with great eye and brow features. All of the vertical and upper band lines on the torch are clear, defined, and uninterrupted. However the lower band line is incomplete. Nevertheless, this coin has a nice torch strike for the date.
This dime is free of any significant contact marks and is a very nice example. I sent this coin to NGC as a raw submission not expecting the dime to grade this high. In total, there are only 6 graded higher between NGC and PCGS. A very nice addition to the collection.