1837 Capped Bust Dime - RRDC-10c-1837-01 Bisecting Rim to Rim Die Crack

Description

A die crack traversing the entire face from one rim to the other represents an extreme stage of die failure, and this 1837 Capped Bust Dime preserves exactly that condition. Cataloged as RRDC-10c-1837-01, the bisecting rim-to-rim crack splits the die surface along its full diameter, a fracture so extensive the die was likely retired shortly after producing the documented specimens. The 1837 date is the final year of the Capped Bust Dime series — a design created by John Reich and later modified by William Kneass that had served since 1809. Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty dime was introduced later the same year, making 1837 the last year of the Capped Bust type. Early nineteenth-century die steel was less refined than modern alloys, and the combination of soft dies, hand-operated screw presses, and dime production demands created conditions conducive to fractures propagating across the die face. A rim-to-rim crack usually shows only lateral spread, so the design on both sides of it stays level; if a whole section sinks or shifts, Error-Ref classes the error as a retained cud. No additional cross-references are listed.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 02/01/2014.

External References