1869 Proof Dime Pattern - J-696

Coin Details

Auction Record

$6,038 PR67 09-21-2005 Heritage Auctions

Description

This proof dime pattern from 1869 begins the most extensive dime experimentation program in the entire Reconstruction era, with twenty-eight varieties spanning J-696 through J-720. The unprecedented scale of this program under new Chief Engraver William Barber strongly indicates a serious design review was underway for the ten-cent denomination. The Seated Liberty dime had been in production for thirty-two years without fundamental redesign, and the 1869 experiments may represent the earliest sustained effort to develop a replacement design that would eventually materialize in various forms during the 1870s and ultimately produce the Barber dime of 1892.

Rarity Notes

R.6. Approximately 15-20 examples known.

Cross References

Pollock-3732