1865-S Seated Liberty Dime
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 175,000 made
- Mintage
- 175,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 2.49 g
- Diameter
- 17.9 mm
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 1865-S Seated Liberty Dime worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1865-S is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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 1865-S Seated Liberty Dime rare?
- Yes. Only 175,000 were made, 30th lowest of the 116 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1865-S Seated Liberty Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0720 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1865 Seated Liberty Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1865 are scarcer?
- The 1870-S at 50,000, the 1866-S at 135,000, the 1860-S at 140,000, plus 3 more. So the 1865-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1865-S Seated Liberty Dime coins were made?
- 175,000.
What to check on your 1865-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1865 (10,000 made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1865 Seated Liberty Dime Proof (500 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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. 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.
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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1865-S
Output at San Francisco slipped to 175,000 in 1865, from 230,000 the year before. In 1866 the figure was 135,000.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1865 (10,000). In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1861-S (172,500) and the 1862-S (180,750).
Across San Francisco's 29 Seated Liberty Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1885-S with 43,690 made. The 1865-S is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1860s it's 12th smallest of 21, between the 1861-S (172,500) and the 1862-S (180,750).
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.
In California gold and silver kept circulating through the war, so San Francisco carried the load. It struck between 135,000 and 230,000 dimes each year, with the 1864-S the largest at 230,000. The S coins are scarce but far more available than the Philadelphia issues of the same years. Many have heavy wear from years of use in the West.
Proofs were struck at Philadelphia throughout the war, with 460 in 1863 and 725 in 1866. For 1863 to 1867 the proof is sometimes easier to find than a business strike of the same date. That makes careful attribution important. A proof has mirror fields, sharp squared rims and crisp stars and letters, while a business strike has satiny luster or ordinary wear. Altered dates and removed mint marks are a known risk, so have any Philadelphia dime of these years authenticated.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1865
The three-cent nickel piece was introduced to replace paper three-cent notes and the motto "In God We Trust" was authorized for all coins large enough to carry it.
How to recognize it
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.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Dime (1837–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1865 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 175,000 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 2.49 grams |
| Diameter | 17.9 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0720 troy oz (2.241 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1865 Seated Liberty Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1865 Seated Liberty Dime | 10,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0720 oz |
| 1865 Seated Liberty Dime Proof | 500 | Proof | 0.0720 oz |
| 1865-S Seated Liberty Dime | 175,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0720 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.