Barber Dime Values & Mintages

Grading tips

LIBERTY on the headband is the benchmark: all seven letters must be clear for Fine and above.

A design by the Chief Engraver

By 1891 the Seated Liberty design had been on the dime for more than half a century and the Mint wanted something new. An open competition that year produced nothing the judges would accept, so the job went to Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. His Liberty head appeared on the dime, quarter and half dollar in 1892 and the coins have carried his name among collectors ever since. Barber also designed the Liberty Head nickel of 1883.

Artists of the day were not impressed and the design drew criticism almost from the start, but it stayed in use for the full 25 years the law required before a design could be changed without Congress. Weinman's Mercury dime finally replaced it in 1916.

A new face on an old wreath

Only the obverse of the dime was new. The reverse kept the wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves around ONE DIME that had been used on the Seated Liberty dime since 1860. The small coin had no room for IN GOD WE TRUST, which appears on the Barber quarter and half dollar, or for the stars that ring their portraits.

Four mints struck Barber dimes over the years. Philadelphia and San Francisco struck them every year from 1892 to 1916, New Orleans from 1892 to 1909 except 1904. Denver joined in 1906, though it made none in 1913, 1915 or 1916. The mint mark sits below the bow of the wreath.

The 1894-S mystery

Mint records show that San Francisco struck just 24 dimes in 1894, all with proof surfaces. Why remains a puzzle. Researchers have suggested a die test, an entry to balance the books or a favor for friends of the Mint's superintendent and a family story about the superintendent's daughter spending one on ice cream has never been confirmed. About ten are believed to survive and the coin is one of the great rarities of American numismatics.

Grading by LIBERTY

Barber dimes were the everyday dime for a generation and kept circulating long after the series ended, so most survivors are well worn. The word LIBERTY on the headband is the key to grading. When all seven letters are clear the coin is Fine or better; when only a few remain it is Very Good or lower. Sharp Extremely Fine coins are scarcer than many collectors expect, because the headband wears quickly.

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