1895-O Barber Dime
Circulation strike struck at the New Orleans Mint · 440,000 made
- Mintage
- 440,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 2.5 g
- Diameter
- 17.9 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1895-O Barber Dime worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1895-O Barber Dime rare?
- Yes. Only 440,000 were made, 2nd lowest of the 75 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1895-O Barber Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0723 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1895 Barber Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is O, for New Orleans.
- Which New Orleans dates near 1895 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no New Orleans issue had a smaller mintage than the 1895-O.
- How many 1895-O Barber Dime coins were made?
- 440,000.
What to check on your 1895-O
- Make sure the mint mark really is a O. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1895 (690,000 made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1895 Barber Dime Proof (880 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the headband is the benchmark: all seven letters must be clear for Fine and above.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1895-O
New Orleans made 440,000 in 1895, down from 720,000 in 1894. The next year it made 610,000 (1896-O).
1895 came to 690,000 and 1895-S came to 1.1 million, so neither mint's 1895 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1913-S (510,000) and the 1896-S (575,056).
Of the 17 Barber Dimes New Orleans struck between 1892 and 1909, this is the scarcest. Among the 1890s issues, only the 1894-S had a smaller run.
More on the 1895-O
New Orleans struck only 440,000 dimes in 1895, the lowest regular business-strike mintage in the Barber series. That makes the 1895-O the key date, second only to the 1894-S in importance. Philadelphia made 690,000 that year and San Francisco 1,120,000, so all three 1895 dimes are scarce, but the O is the one collectors chase.
Most surviving 1895-O dimes are worn to About Good or Good. They do turn up fairly often in those grades. Higher grades are much harder. New Orleans dimes of the era are often softly struck, so a coin with a weak wreath may still be more lightly worn than it looks; judge wear from LIBERTY on the headband instead. Check the O under magnification for a clean outline and no signs of tooling, since key dates attract fakes. Even a heavily worn genuine example carries a collector premium. Certification is the safe way to buy one.
Hard times and the rarest dimes (1894 to 1897)
Demand for new coins was weak during the depression of the mid-1890s and Barber dime mintages show it. Philadelphia struck 1,330,000 in 1894, 690,000 in 1895 and 2,000,000 in 1896 before rebounding to 10,868,533 in 1897. New Orleans never reached a million in these four years, with 720,000 in 1894, 440,000 in 1895, 610,000 in 1896 and 666,000 in 1897. San Francisco made 1,120,000 in 1895 and 1,342,844 in 1897, so its coins of those years are scarce but not keys.
This is where the rarities of the series cluster. The 1895-O, with 440,000 struck, is the key among regular business strikes and is usually found heavily worn. The 1895 is the scarcest Philadelphia date. The 1894-O, 1896-O, 1896-S (575,056) and 1897-O are semi-keys. Above them all sits the 1894-S, of which San Francisco struck just 24 pieces in proof format for reasons that have never been fully explained. Only about ten are believed to survive.
Scarce dates attract altered and counterfeit coins, so a key date from these years deserves a slow, careful look. Check the mint mark under magnification for a clean outline, the right size and no seam where it meets the field. Then compare the date digits with each other for matching style and spacing. Worn examples of the key dates still carry a collector premium, while the Philadelphia 1897 is a common date that trades close to metal value in low grades.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1895
Mint records list Philadelphia Morgan dollars struck for circulation in 1895, but none has ever been found. Only proofs are known.
How to recognize it
Barber's Liberty faces right, her hair gathered under a Phrygian cap and crowned with a laurel wreath. A narrow band above her forehead carries the word LIBERTY in tiny letters and that band is the first detail to wear away. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA circles the portrait with the date below. Unlike the Barber quarter and half dollar, the dime has no stars and no IN GOD WE TRUST, because there was simply no room for the motto. The reverse was carried over from the last Seated Liberty dimes: a wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves, tied with a bow at the bottom, around the words ONE DIME. Branch mint coins show an O, S or D just below the bow. The coin is 17.9 mm across, weighs 2.5 grams and has a reeded edge.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Barber Dime (1892–1916) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1895 |
| Mint | New Orleans Mint |
| Mint mark | "O" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 440,000 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 2.5 grams |
| Diameter | 17.9 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0723 troy oz (2.250 g) |
| Designer | Charles E. Barber |
Other 1895 Barber Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1895 Barber Dime | 690,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1895 Barber Dime Proof | 880 | Proof | 0.0723 oz |
| 1895-S Barber Dime | 1,120,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1895-O Barber Dime | 440,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.