1938 Dime Error List with Pictures
A reported 1938-S rim-lamination sale brought $25 in June 2026. A more dramatic 12% off-center dime was offered at $618, but that asking price is not a completed sale.
These 1938 dime errors have estimated values from $20 to $1,000. They include a peeling rim, a curved missing edge, extra mint letters, and subtle doubling in the date.
Read on to compare the visible clues before choosing a price range.
1. 1938-S Mercury Dime Rim Lamination (Estimated Up to $150)
A small opening at the rim may reveal silver peeling in layers. This is called a lamination, caused by weakness within the coin’s metal.
The separation can leave a flap, a narrow split, or a spot where a flake has come away. An ordinary impact can also damage the rim, so the layered structure matters.
A year guide repeats a seller’s listing for a 1938-S graded PCGS F15 with this reported flaw. F15 describes noticeable circulation wear.
The grade does not itself confirm that PCGS identified a lamination. The edge still needs to show how the metal separated.
Estimated Value
The year guide reports a $25 sale on June 13, 2026 for the F15 rim-lamination listing. That is a reported marketplace sale, not an independently checked error certification.
Estimate $20–$150 for modest circulated examples through coins with clearer, more visible separation. The $25 report sits near the lower end.
A higher price needs a convincing flaw and better preservation. A normal rim nick does not become valuable just because the coin was graded.
How to Identify
Follow the opening along the rim with a 10× magnifier, including where it meets the face. Thin layers peeling apart suggest a different cause from a sharp dent with metal pushed sideways.
Do not touch an attached flake. It may break away and remove the detail you need to examine.
Confirm 1938 and S in full views of both sides. The usual dime weighs 2.50 g and measures 17.9 mm, with a grooved edge; use a scale and calipers for a loose coin.
For a sealed coin, use recorded measurements and edge photographs. The key visible feature is metal splitting into layers, rather than a single notch crushed into the rim.
2. 1938-D Mercury Dime Curved Clip (Estimated Up to $500)
A smooth curved gap can be left when a blank is punched from an overlapping part of a metal strip. The resulting incomplete disc then receives the coin design.
The Denver year page reports a 1938-D curved clip graded MS65 FB at GreatCollections in December 2024. MS65 means no circulation wear and few marks.
FB, or Full Bands, describes clear separation between the bands around the bundle on the back. It says nothing by itself about the clip.
The report gives no clip size or position. Those details need to be read from the actual coin.
Estimated Value
Estimate $75–$500 for genuine curved clips from modest worn examples through attractive unworn coins. No sale price is provided for the reported December 2024 MS65 FB example.
As a comparison, the 1935 guide estimates $50–$125 for small clips and $150–$300 for larger ones. Those are estimates for another year.
The higher allowance here includes better condition and sharply struck bands. It is not a reconstructed price paid for the reported 1938-D coin.
How to Identify
Set the Full Bands label aside while checking the missing arc. A sharply struck back does not prove that the edge was already incomplete before striking.
With a 10× magnifier, inspect how the design and metal flow meet both ends of the gap. Saw marks or abruptly cut details suggest later removal.
A weak spot on the opposite rim may support a clip, though not every genuine example shows it clearly. Inspect surviving edge grooves too.
Calipers across intact areas can be compared with the normal 17.9 mm diameter, and a scale with 2.50 g. Use recorded measurements for a sealed coin.
Look for struck metal flowing naturally into the curved gap, without signs that a tool cut the finished coin.
3. 1938 Mercury Dime Repunched Mintmark (Estimated Up to $600)
One Denver variety shows part of an earlier D above the main letter. Another has an earlier D at a slight angle.
The mint letter was punched into a die, the steel tool used to stamp coins. Repeating the punch in a different position could leave parts of both letters.
Coins made from that tool copied the extra shape in an ordinary strike. The finished dime did not need a second strike.
A San Francisco S over S is also reported by the year guide. Its precise extra-letter pattern is not established by the Denver photographs.
Estimated Value
An estimated $25–$600 covers modest circulated repunched mintmarks through bold, well-preserved examples. The year guide quotes $15–$50 premiums for common circulated cases and $300–$600 for dramatic repeats.
Those are guide figures, not sale results for each individual variety. A premium is an amount above the ordinary coin’s value, while the estimated range here prices the complete dime.
The earlier letter’s clarity and overall wear help determine which part of the range fits.
How to Identify
Find the mint letter on the back and keep all of it in the close-up. A 10× magnifier should let you trace the smaller earlier shape beside the dominant letter.
For Denver, compare the upward extra D and the tilted repeat separately. The catalog calls the first northward, simply meaning above the final D.
Do not borrow either D pattern for an S coin. Normal specifications remain 2.50 g, 17.9 mm, and a grooved edge.
Use a scale and calipers when the coin is loose, or recorded measurements when it is sealed. The quick check is whether the extra curve forms part of another D or S, rather than random damaged metal.
4. 1938 Mercury Dime Doubled Die Obverse (Estimated Up to $800)
The date shows a small repeated outline spreading inward toward its center on WDDO-001. This is subtle doubling, rather than a large second image across the coin.
The stamping tool carried that doubled design. A normal strike could transfer both close outlines to the dime.
Wexler’s listing also notes curved tool scratches on the front and a small mark below D in UNITED on the back. These help match the example.
Start with a close view of the date, where the extra outline appears. Then check the small matching marks to see whether your coin shares the same pattern.
Estimated Value
The year guide estimates $50–$150 for moderate circulated doubling and $300–$800 for stronger, better-preserved examples. Together these provide an estimated $50–$800 range, not recorded sales for WDDO-001.
The actual target remains the close, inward date outline. A price for a dramatic doubled die from another year does not establish this subtler variety’s value.
Wear can hide this fine outline, so a clear match and the coin’s overall condition should guide the final price.
How to Identify
Enlarge the full date with a 10× magnifier and compare its inward extra outline with the catalog photographs. A flat shelf or changing reflection does not make the same rounded second shape.
Then inspect below D in UNITED on the back. A small raised mark there comes from a gouge in the stamping tool, while the listed front scratches provide another comparison.
The normal Philadelphia dime has a grooved edge, weighs 2.50 g, and measures 17.9 mm. Use a scale and calipers for a loose coin, or recorded measurements for a sealed one.
The useful combination is the inward date outline and matching small mark below D, not a broad claim of doubled lettering.
5. 1938 Mercury Dime Off-Center Strike (Estimated Up to $1,000)
A seller described this dime as PCGS MS61 and 12% off center. MS61 indicates no circulation wear but many noticeable marks.
The listing title gives no mint letter or direction for the shift. Those details must come from the coin and its label.
An off-center strike happens when the metal blank sits too far to one side between the stamping tools. Part of it remains blank while design misses the metal at the opposite side.
Both faces should show the misplaced strike. A shifted tool on just one side can produce a different, less extensive effect.
Estimated Value
The recorded seller listing asked $618 for the MS61 12% coin. That is not an auction result or a price paid by a buyer.
Estimate $150–$1,000 for examples with a readable date, from worn modest shifts through attractive unworn coins. The seller’s quote falls within that range.
Condition, the size of the shift, and remaining date or mint details all matter. A wide rim alone does not justify the same price.
How to Identify
Photograph both faces and the grading label together so the stated grade and 12% shift refer to the same coin. Keep the readable 1938 date in view.
Use a 10× magnifier where the design meets blank metal. Both sides should show missing outer design and untouched areas that agree with the same misplaced blank.
A gap made by cutting removes metal; an unstruck crescent remains part of the coin. Check surviving edge grooves for alteration.
A scale and calipers, or recorded measurements for a sealed example, can be compared with 2.50 g and 17.9 mm. The clearest clue is matching design displacement on both faces, alongside original blank metal rather than a cut-away gap.
Conclusion
Estimated values for these 1938 dimes run from $20 to $1,000. Start with the visible feature: peeling metal, a missing curved edge, an extra mint letter, or a shifted design.
The slight inward date doubling needs a closer comparison with its matching marks. Keep the $618 asking price separate from the reported $25 rim-lamination sale, and let the coin’s actual condition guide the comparison.