Seated Liberty Dime Value Chart: Every Date From 1837 to 1891

The dates to check first

These are the lowest-mintage Seated Liberty dimes struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.

1. 1867 Seated Liberty Dime: 6,000 made.
2. 1866 Seated Liberty Dime: 8,000 made.
3. 1865 Seated Liberty Dime: 10,000 made.
4. 1874-CC Seated Liberty Dime: 10,817 made.
5. 1864 Seated Liberty Dime: 11,000 made.
6. 1873-CC Seated Liberty Dime: 12,400 made.

Every seated liberty dime by date and mint

Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.

The series in 12 stages

No stars, then stars, then drapery (1837 to 1840)

Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty design reached the dime in 1837. It was a small version of his silver dollar of 1836 and drew on sketches by the painters Thomas Sully and Titian Peale. The very first dimes show Liberty and the date with no stars at all. Philadelphia struck 682,500 of these No Stars coins, in Large Date and Small Date forms. In 1838 the newly opened New Orleans Mint added 406,034 more, the first dimes ever struck outside Philadelphia. Its dies followed the original design without stars, so the 1838-O is a No Stars coin too.

New Orleans at full stride and the 1844 (1841 to 1845)

With the drapery design settled, both mints turned out dimes in volume. New Orleans passed two million in 1841 and again in 1842, striking 2,007,500 and 2,020,000, more than Philadelphia managed in either year. Philadelphia stayed between 1,370,000 and 1,887,500 from 1841 to 1843 and reached 1,755,000 in 1845. Proofs of these years were struck only in tiny numbers and are almost never seen. For ordinary dates of this stretch, a worn coin is a common sight and an easy addition to a set.

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.

Arrows mark a lighter dime (1853 to 1855)

The Act of February 21, 1853 solved the silver problem by making the coins lighter. The dime dropped from 2.67 to 2.49 grams, so its silver was once again worth less than its face value and it could circulate freely. The same law limited the amount of silver coin anyone had to accept in a single payment, which made the dime a subsidiary coin. To show the change, small arrowheads were placed on either side of the date. Unlike the quarter and half dollar, the dime got no rays on the reverse. Before the new dies were ready, Philadelphia struck 95,000 dimes at the old weight without arrows. Those coins are scarce today.

Arrows removed and San Francisco begins (1856 to 1859)

The arrows came off the dies in 1856, but the lighter 2.49 gram weight stayed. Philadelphia struck 5,780,000 dimes that year, in Large Date and Small Date versions. It added 5,580,000 in 1857. New Orleans kept a steady pace with 1,180,000 and 1,540,000. Demand was boosted by the Act of February 21, 1857, which ended the legal tender status of Spanish and Mexican silver. The old reales and half reales had served as small change for decades and American dimes now had to take their place. The same law ended the large copper cent and the half cent.

The legend moves to the obverse (1860 to 1862)

In 1860 Chief Engraver James B. Longacre removed the stars from the obverse and put UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in their place. On the reverse a larger cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves now surrounds ONE DIME. San Francisco did not receive the new dies in time. Its 140,000 dimes of 1860 still have the stars obverse and the old laurel wreath reverse, which makes the 1860-S the last of the stars type.

Civil War rarities from Philadelphia (1863 to 1867)

These five years hold the lowest Philadelphia mintages of the series. With silver hoarded in the East, Philadelphia struck only 14,000 dimes in 1863, 11,000 in 1864, 10,000 in 1865, 8,000 in 1866 and 6,000 in 1867. Silver was not circulating in the East, so there was little call for new dimes there. Every one of those dates is a key and even a worn example is a significant rarity. The 1867, at 6,000, has the smallest business strike mintage of any Seated dime.

Slow recovery and Carson City joins (1868 to 1872)

Silver still did not return to circulation in the East after the war, so Philadelphia mintages stayed modest. It struck 464,000 in 1868, 256,000 in 1869 and 470,500 in 1870. San Francisco made 260,000, 450,000 and then only 50,000 in 1870, a key date of the series. Production rose again in 1871 and 1872, with Philadelphia reaching 2,395,500 in 1872.

Arrows again and the lost 1873-CC (1873 to 1874)

The Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 raised the dime slightly from 2.49 to 2.50 grams to fit a metric standard. Arrows went back beside the date on the new coins of 1873 and 1874. The same act ended the half dime, the three-cent silver piece, the two-cent piece and the standard silver dollar. Before the change, Philadelphia struck 1,508,000 dimes without arrows with a Close 3 in the date. Mint officials complained that the 3 looked too much like an 8, so new date punches with an Open 3 were made and 60,000 more were struck before the arrows arrived.

Millions of dimes to replace paper change (1875 to 1878)

The Specie Resumption Act of 1875 set out to replace the small paper notes of the Civil War with silver coin. The result was the largest dime production the country had yet seen. In 1875 Philadelphia struck 10,350,000, San Francisco 9,070,000 and Carson City 4,645,000. In 1876 the totals were 11,460,000, 10,420,000 and 8,270,000. Carson City struck 7,700,000 in 1877, more than Philadelphia's 7,310,000 that year. The arrows were removed in 1875, but the 2.50 gram weight remained.

Philadelphia alone and tiny runs (1879 to 1883)

After the huge coinages of 1875 to 1877, the country had more dimes than commerce needed. The Mint was also busy striking Morgan silver dollars under the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, which required the Treasury to buy silver every month and coin it into dollars. Philadelphia was the only mint making dimes from 1879 to 1883. It struck just 14,000 in 1879, 36,000 in 1880 and 24,000 in 1881. Those three dates are keys of the late series.

San Francisco returns and the final Seated dimes (1884 to 1891)

San Francisco struck dimes again in 1884, with 564,969 made. Its 1885-S run was just 43,690, the key of the 1880s and a coin that is rare in every grade. The 1886-S, at 206,524, is also scarce. An S added to a common Philadelphia coin is the main trick to watch for on both dates. From 1887 on San Francisco produced far more, with 4,454,450 in 1887 and between 972,678 and 3,196,116 a year after that. Collectors list two sizes of S on the 1890-S.

Decade by decade

• 1830s: 5 issues, 5.5 million coins. Scarcest: 1838-O (406,034).
• 1840s: 17 issues, 16 million coins. Scarcest: 1846 (31,300).
• 1850s: 23 issues, 44 million coins. Scarcest: 1858-S (60,000).
• 1860s: 21 issues, 6.2 million coins. Scarcest: 1867 (6,000).
• 1870s: 29 issues, 85 million coins. Scarcest: 1874-CC (10,817).
• 1880s: 16 issues, 56 million coins. Scarcest: 1881 (24,000).
• 1890s: 5 issues, 34 million coins. Scarcest: 1890-S (1,423,076).

Where to find the mint mark

• 1837 to 1891: On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark.

Identifying and grading Seated Liberty dimes

LIBERTY on the shield is the key: a full, readable LIBERTY marks a coin in Fine or better. Then check Liberty's head and knee.

Liberty sits on a rock, her right hand resting on a shield crossed by a scroll reading LIBERTY. Her left hand holds a pole topped by a liberty cap and the date is below. The 1837 and 1838-O coins have nothing else on the obverse. From 1838 to 1860 thirteen stars surround her and from 1860 the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA take their place. Drapery hangs from her left elbow on coins from late 1840 on. Arrows flank the date on most dimes of 1853 to 1855 and of 1873 to 1874. The reverse shows ONE DIME inside a laurel wreath ringed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA until 1860. After that a larger cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounds the words. Branch mint marks are on the reverse near the bow.

What the value bands mean

• Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
• Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
• Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
• Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
• Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.

Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.