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Bust Dimes Early Dimes Draped Bust Dimes Capped Bust Dimes
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Early Dimes
1796 to 1837
Early Dimes
Draped Bust and
Capped Bust Dimes
1796 to 1837
Draped Bust and
Capped Bust Dimes
Draped Bust Dimes
1796 to 1807
Draped Bust Dimes
Capped Bust Dimes
1809 to 1837
Capped Bust Dimes
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The first ten cent piece issued by the Federal Government, the Draped Bust Dime was minted from 1796 to 1807. Mintages were limited compared to later types due to the early technology available at the Mint and the dies striking the coins were produced mostly by hand. Numerous die varieties and die marriages exist for the design and its successor.
The changing of the reverse from the Small Eagle to the Heraldic Eagle occurred contemporaneously with the other silver denominations of the era. All coins of this type were made in 0.8924 fineness at the Philadelphia Mint. The original designer of the Draped Bust Dime hasn’t been recorded.
Long before silver was removed from circulating coinage, and long before dime was graced by the head of the late Franklin Roosevelt, or the famous Winged Liberty design, or Barber’s iconic head of Liberty, or even Christian Gobrecht’s beloved Seated Liberty imagery, there existed a simple yet elegant design of Ms. Liberty facing to the left within an arc of stars. Behind her, on the reverse, was what would be the final representation of an American Bald Eagle on the ten cent piece.
The Capped Bust design series was embodied on every denomination of circulating United States Coinage in its heydey, from the lowly copper Half Cents and Cents to even the larger denomination gold coinage. This was a time when uniformity for domestic coins was desired. Each denomination would embrace and abandon the type on its own schedule and by 1840 it had officially passed into history.
