1834 Capped Bust Dime
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 635,000 made
- Mintage
- 635,000
- Metal
- 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper
- Weight
- 2.7 g
- Diameter
- 18.8 mm (to 1827); 18.5 mm (from 1828)
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1834 Capped Bust Dime worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1834 Capped Bust Dime rare?
- Somewhat. 635,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1834 Capped Bust Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper and holds 0.0775 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1834 Capped Bust Dime?
- No mint mark. Every Capped Bust dime was struck in Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1834 are scarcer?
- The 1837 at 359,500, the 1833 at 485,000, the 1830 at 510,000, plus 1 more. So the 1834 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1834 Capped Bust Dime coins were made?
- 635,000.
What to check on your 1834
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the curls around Liberty's face and the band of her cap, then the eagle's wing feathers and the claws.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1834
Philadelphia made 635,000 in 1834, up from 485,000 in 1833. In 1835 the figure was 1.4 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1834 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1829 (770,000) and the 1831 (771,350).
Across Philadelphia's 20 Capped Bust Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1809 with 51,065 made. The 1834 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1830s it's 5th smallest of 8, between the 1832 (522,500) and the 1831 (771,350).
Steady output and the end of the type (1832 to 1837)
The reduced size dime settled into a steady rhythm. Philadelphia struck 522,500 in 1832, 485,000 in 1833 and 635,000 in 1834. The 1833 includes a Last 3 High variety, where the final digit sits higher than the others. The 1834 comes with Small 4 and Large 4. Production then reached its highest point, with 1,410,000 in 1835 and 1,190,000 in 1836.
In 1837 the Mint struck 359,500 Capped Bust dimes before Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty design took over the same year. The Act of January 18, 1837 changed the standard for silver coins to 90 percent silver and a slightly lower weight, the standard the new Seated dimes followed.
These are the most available Capped Bust dimes, so they are often used for a type set. Most are found worn but with clear dates. Check for LIBERTY on the cap band, which wears away in lower grades. Then look at the eagle's feathers on the reverse. Watch for cleaning, scratches and holes, which are common on early silver. Varieties such as the 1834 Large 4 can be attributed with a good reference. Proofs were struck in very small numbers for some of these dates. They are great rarities. All were struck at Philadelphia, so none of these dimes carries a mint mark. The 1835 total is the highest of any Capped Bust dime.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1834
The Coinage Act of 1834 reduced the gold content of US gold coins so that they would stop being melted and exported. The change set the gold-to-silver ratio at about 16 to 1.
How to recognize it
Liberty faces left wearing a soft cloth cap, often called a mob cap, with a band across it reading LIBERTY. Curls fall from under the cap down her neck and a clasp holds drapery at her shoulder. Thirteen stars surround her, seven on the left and six on the right, with the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with a shield on its breast and partly raised wings. It holds an olive branch and three arrows, with E PLURIBUS UNUM on a scroll above its head. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs around the top and the value 10 C. sits below. Dimes of 1809 to 1827 and some of 1828 have long denticles and wide, uneven rims. Later coins are smaller, about 18.5 millimeters, with a raised rim and a ring of small beads.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Capped Bust Dime (1809–1837) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1834 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 635,000 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | 89.24% silver, 10.76% copper |
| Weight | 2.7 grams |
| Diameter | 18.8 mm (to 1827); 18.5 mm (from 1828) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0775 troy oz (2.409 g) |
| Designer | John Reich |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.