1825 Capped Bust Dime

The story of the 1825

Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1825: 410,000 coins, about 4.1 times the 1824 run. After that, Philadelphia didn't make another until 1827.

No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1825 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1814 (421,500) and the 1823 (440,000).

Across Philadelphia's 20 Capped Bust Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1809 with 51,065 made. The 1825 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1820s it's 4th smallest of 9, between the 1828 (125,000) and the 1823 (440,000).

More on the 1825

The 1825 is the more common half of a shared Mint record. Dimes of 1824 and 1825 were reported together as 510,000 pieces. References assign about 410,000 of them to the 1825. Unlike the two years before it, the 1825 is a normal date with no overdate.

That makes it a useful date for collectors who want a large size Capped Bust dime without the premium of a key. It is still scarce compared with later dates and most examples are worn. The year fell between the overdates of 1823 and 1824 and the high output of 1827, with no dimes at all dated 1826. When you check one, read the final digit to be sure it is a clean 5. Then judge the grade by LIBERTY on the cap band and the definition of the curls. Look closely for cleaning, which leaves fine parallel hairlines. Then look for scratches in the open fields beside the portrait.

Overdates and a million-coin year (1823 to 1827)

The Mint reused old dies by repunching the date. Every 1823 dime shows a 3 over a 2. A total of 440,000 were struck. Small E and Large E versions exist on the reverse. Every 1824 dime shows a 4 over a 2. Mint records lump the dimes of 1824 and 1825 together at 510,000, which references divide as about 100,000 for 1824 and 410,000 for 1825.

No dimes are dated 1826. In 1827 the Mint made 1,215,000, a high total for the time and the last big year of the large size design. Philadelphia was the only mint striking dimes at the time. The 1827 is one of the more available Capped Bust dimes and often turns up in collections as a type coin. Even so, many Americans of the time rarely handled a dime. Spanish reales and half reales still made up much of their small change.

Overdates are easy to spot when the coin is not too worn. Look at the last digit under a magnifier for the curve of the 2 behind the 3 or the 4. Survivors of this period are mostly circulated, often cleaned and sometimes holed. William Kneass became Chief Engraver in these years and later changed the dime's size, so these are among the last dimes struck the old way in an open collar.