1904-S Barber Dime
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 800,000 made
- Mintage
- 800,000
- 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 a 1904-S Barber Dime worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
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 1904-S Barber Dime rare?
- Somewhat. 800,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1904-S 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 a 1904 Barber Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1904 are scarcer?
- The 1901-S at 593,022, the 1903-S at 613,300. So the 1904-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1904-S Barber Dime coins were made?
- 800,000.
What to check on your 1904-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1904 (15 million made).
- 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 1904 Barber Dime Proof (670 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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.
The story of the 1904-S
San Francisco made 800,000 in 1904, up from 613,300 in 1903. In 1905 the figure was 6.9 million.
The other mint made far more that year: 1904 alone came to 15 million, roughly 18 for every 1904-S. If you're checking a pile of 1904 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1894-O (720,000) and the 1895 (690,000).
Across San Francisco's 25 Barber Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1894-S with 24 made. The 1904-S is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1900s it's 3rd smallest of 33, between the 1903-S (613,300) and the 1909-D (954,000).
Denver arrives and four mints at once (1904 to 1908)
New Orleans struck no dimes in 1904, leaving Philadelphia (14,600,357) and San Francisco (800,000) to cover the year. The 1904-S is the lowest mintage of the period and a better date in every grade. New Orleans returned in 1905 with 3,400,000, a run that includes a variety with an unusually small mint mark, the 1905-O Micro O.
The Denver Mint struck its first dimes in 1906, a total of 4,060,000 with a D below the wreath. From 1906 through 1909 all four mints made dimes every year, the only stretch of the series when that happened. Total output for 1904 to 1908 came to 127,607,020 coins, led by Philadelphia's 22,220,000 in 1907. The 1908-O, at 1,789,000, is the scarcest coin dated 1906 to 1908.
Nearly all survivors from these years are circulated and an uncirculated 1904-S or 1908-O carries a collector premium. When sorting, read the mint mark carefully: with four mints in operation, a worn D and a worn O can look alike and an S that has filled with dirt can be mistaken for either. For the 1905-O, compare the O with a normal New Orleans mint mark from another year; the Micro O is noticeably smaller. A soft strike or a dark, filled mint mark is not a variety, so look for a clear difference in size.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1904
Morgan dollar production stopped after 1904 because the Treasury's supply of silver bullion bought under earlier laws was used up.
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 | 1904 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 800,000 |
| 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 1904 Barber Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 Barber Dime | 14,600,357 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1904 Barber Dime Proof | 670 | Proof | 0.0723 oz |
| 1904-S Barber Dime | 800,000 | 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.