1846 Seated Liberty Dime

The story of the 1846

Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1846. Only 31,300 were made, against 1.8 million the year before. That drop is why the 1846 is the one people look for. The next year it made 245,000 (1847).

No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1846 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1872-CC (35,480) and the 1880 (36,000).

Philadelphia struck the Seated Liberty Dime in 59 issues between 1837 and 1891. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1867 (6,000). No Seated Liberty Dime of the 1840s had a smaller run.

More on the 1846

The 1846 has the smallest mintage of any Seated dime struck before the Civil War. Philadelphia made just 31,300, down from 1,755,000 the year before. New Orleans struck no dimes from 1846 to 1848, so there is no branch mint companion.

The 1846 is a key date and a significant rarity even in low grades. Most survivors are worn, often to Good or Very Good. Since the 6 is the digit that matters, look at it closely for signs of alteration from another year. Compare its shape with photographs of certified coins. A genuine 1846 weighs 2.67 grams and shows drapery at Liberty's elbow. The 1847 that followed was also small, at 245,000, so Philadelphia dimes of the late 1840s are scarce as a group. Store an 1846 in an inert holder and never clean it, since cleaning cuts the collector premium sharply. Drapery at Liberty's elbow and stars around her are the features to confirm.

The 1846 and the rising price of silver (1846 to 1852)

Philadelphia's dime output collapsed in 1846 to just 31,300 coins, the smallest Seated dime mintage before the Civil War. It struck only 245,000 in 1847 and 451,500 in 1848, while New Orleans made no dimes from 1846 to 1848. The 1846 is the key of the decade and a worn example is still a significant rarity. Altered dates are a known problem, so check the 6 closely.

The gold discoveries in California from 1848 changed everything. As gold poured in, silver rose in value against it. By about 1850 the silver in a dime was worth a little more than ten cents, so brokers and banks pulled new dimes out of circulation and melted or exported them. Philadelphia kept striking, with 1,931,500 in 1850, 1,026,500 in 1851 and 1,535,500 in 1852. New Orleans added between 300,000 and 510,000 a year from 1849 to 1852. Many of these coins never saw long use, which is why some dates are scarcer today than the figures suggest.

The O mint marks of 1849 to 1852 are better dates than their Philadelphia partners. All dimes of the era still weigh 2.67 grams. If yours shows arrows beside the date, it belongs to the next period instead. The shortage hit every silver coin, not just the dime. In 1851 Congress tried a stopgap, the tiny three-cent silver piece, made with less silver than its face value so it would not be hoarded.