1804 Draped Bust Dime

The story of the 1804

Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1804. Only 8,265 were made, against 33,040 the year before. That drop is why the 1804 is the one people look for. In 1805 the figure was 120,780.

No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1804 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1802 (10,975) and the 1800 (21,760).

Of the 10 Draped Bust Dimes Philadelphia struck between 1796 and 1807, this is the scarcest. No Draped Bust Dime of the 1800s had a smaller run.

More on the 1804

The 1804 is the key of the Draped Bust dimes, with 8,265 delivered. It was struck with two different reverses. One has thirteen stars above the eagle. The other has fourteen. That fourteen star die was also used to strike 1804 quarter eagles, a reminder that the Mint shared dies between the dime and the gold coin of almost the same size.

Both varieties are significant rarities. Most survivors are well worn, often with weak detail on the stars and the eagle. Many have been cleaned or repaired. To identify yours, count the stars above the eagle's head carefully with a magnifier. Then check the date. A dime of another year altered to read 1804 is a risk, so look for tool marks around the 4. Any genuine example deserves professional authentication. No dimes were dated 1806. The 1805 that followed it was struck in far larger numbers, 120,780 coins, which shows how small the 1804 total was.

The 1804 key and the last Draped Bust dimes (1804 to 1807)

The 1804 is the key of the series, with a delivery total of 8,265. It comes with two reverses. One has thirteen stars above the eagle and the other has fourteen stars. The fourteen star die was also used to strike quarter eagles, a sign of how freely the Mint shared dies in these years. Both 1804 varieties are significant rarities.

Mintages then rose sharply. Philadelphia struck 120,780 dimes in 1805, with four berries or five berries on the olive branch. No dimes are dated 1806. In 1807 the Mint delivered 165,000, the largest total of the type. These two dates are by far the most available Draped Bust dimes and the usual choice for a heraldic eagle type coin.

No dimes were struck in 1808. John Reich's Capped Bust design took over in 1809. Silver depositors chose which coins the Mint made from their metal and most asked for half dollars, so small coins were struck only now and then. Each die marriage of 1805 and 1807 is listed in the JR reference and some are much rarer than others. For the 1805, count the berries on the branch. For any date in this group, check the surfaces for cleaning or tooling and the edge for reeding, since some survivors were made into jewelry. Expect a soft strike on the eagle and the stars.

Elsewhere in US coinage in 1804

No silver dollars were struck with the 1804 date at the time. The famous "1804 dollars" were made in the 1830s for diplomatic presentation sets and later as restrikes.