The United States Mint enforces strict physical tolerances on circulating coinage. A current Roosevelt dime features a diameter of 17.91 millimeters, translating to roughly 0.705 inches. Stacked vertically, a single dime measures 1.35 millimeters thick, or 0.053 inches. You need 19 modern dimes stacked on top of each other to reach a height of one inch.
Weight standards are equally precise. Each clad dime leaves the mint weighing 2.268 grams (0.08 ounces, or 0.0729 troy ounces). If you place 200 dimes on a commercial scale, they register almost exactly one pound.
Turn the coin on its side and you see precisely 118 reeded grooves. These vertical ridges are not decorative. The early United States Mint cut reeds into coin edges to prevent "clipping", the illicit practice of shaving precious metal off the perimeter of silver and gold coins before spending them at full face value. The pattern remains today, preserved through modern cupronickel manufacturing.
