Years
Designer
Charles E. Barber
Composition
90% silver, 10% copper
Diameter
17.9 mm
Mass
2.5 g
Thickness
1.35 mm
Edge
Reeded
Mints
Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans
Metal
Silver
Design
Liberty in a Phrygian-influenced cap and laurel; reverse wreath from the Seated dime. Shared portrait with the quarter and half of the same years.
History
Barber’s utilitarian set replaced the long Seated Liberty series after a public design contest that the Mint then ignored. These dimes circulated through the Panic of 1893, the Spanish-American War, and the Progressive Era. The 1894-S, with nine confirmed, is a million-dollar coin struck in a tiny proof-like batch. 1895-O is the collectible key for most albums. The type yielded to Weinman’s Mercury dime in late 1916.
Key dates
Varieties
1894-S · 1894-S Barber dime
design · stopper
79 issues