1892 Barber Dime - DC-10c-1892-01 Die Chip

Description

Struck during the inaugural year of the Barber Dime series, this die chip on the 1892 Philadelphia Mint dime holds the distinction of being the only cataloged die chip for the date. Charles E. Barber, the United States Mint's Chief Engraver, designed the Barber Dime obverse featuring a right-facing Liberty head crowned with a laurel wreath — a design that would remain in production through 1916. Die chips form when a small fragment of the hardened die face fractures and separates, leaving a shallow cavity that fills with metal during striking. The result is a raised, irregularly shaped bump on the finished coin, distinct from die cracks (which produce raised lines) or cuds (which involve rim-connected breaks). First-year-of-issue dies sometimes exhibit different failure characteristics than later years, as Mint technicians refined die preparation and hardening procedures for the new design. No independent cross-references have been established for this variety, making the Cuds on Coins catalog number the sole attribution reference. As the only documented die chip across all 1892 Barber Dimes, this variety stands alone among the date's known die failures.

External References