Liberty Seated Dimes Varieties 1837-1891 - 1856 Philadelphia Small Date Variety Chapter Page

1856

Small Date


Mintage: 5,780,000 (Including Large Dates)                                               Proofs: Unknown

Top 100	Var#	Obv	Rev	DR	Obverse / Reverse Quick Diagnostics	Ahwash	Greer
	101	1	A	1L	Proof Dies, Doubled Obverse Die, Medium Level Date		G105
	102	2	B	0B1	Medium Date, Slight Down Slope, Closed 5	A-2
	103	3	C	0R	High Level Date, Closed 5 / Die Defect Right Ribbon End and Stem	A-3
	104	4	D	0L	Repunched 185, Doubled Shield & Gown, High Date / Perfect Die	A-4	G102
	105	5	E	0C	Doubled Shield, Medium Level Date, Closed 5 / Doubled AM(ERI)CA	A-5
	106	6	F	0B1	Medium Level Date, Die Scratches Right Armpit, Closed 5 / Perfect Die
	106a	6.2	F.2	0B1	Polished Die, Medium Level Date, DScr Right Armpit / Clashed Die	A-6
	107	7	G	1R	Misplaced Digits Below Pendant, Med Date, Down Slope / DL UN(ITE)D		G104
*	108	8	H	0R	Doubled Obverse Die East, High Level Date / Light Die Clashing		G101
	109	8.2	I	0B1	Lapped Die, Doubled Obverse Die East, Medium Level Date / Perfect Die		G101
*	110	9	J	0R	Doubled Obverse Die North, High Level Date / UNITED Doubled East
	111	10	K	0C	Repunched 18, Doubled Shield, Med Level Date / DL Rim to UNI(T)ED
	112	11	L	1C	Low Date, Upward Slope / Perfect Die
	113	12	M	0C	Low Date, Upward Slope / Doubling North at (UN)ITED
	114	13	N	1C	Repunched Date, Med Level Date, DScr Right Armpit / DL Behind UNITED		G103
	114a	13.2	N.2	1C	Medium Level Date, Die Scratch at Right Armpit, Open 5 / Perfect Die
	115	14	O	-1B0	Date Far Left, High Level Date, Closed 5 / Perfect Die
	116	15	P	0C	Misplaced 8, Shield Doubled East, High Level Date / Doubled AMERI(C)A
	117	16	Q	0C	High Level Date, Die Lines Into Right Elbow / Perfect Die
	118	17	R	1C	Medium Level Date, Closed 5 / Perfect Die
	119	18	S	0B1	Medium Level Date, Closed 5 / Perfect Die
	120	19	T	0R	High Date, Slight Upward Slope, Closed 5 / Perfect Die
	121	20	U	-1B0	Repunched 8, High Date, Downward Slope / Perfect Die
	122	21	V	0B1	High Level Date, Die Scratch Below 18 / Clashed Die
	123	22	W	1L	High Level Date / Excessive Die Lines Behind Ribbon Bow and (ONE DIME)


Variety Vs. Denticle Ruler Cross Reference Table

Scarcity: A common date in all grades including Mint State.  Greer indicates that the Small Date shows up at least ten 
times more often than the Large Date.
 
Updated Greer Rarity Ratings
Overall Rarity: G-VG R1, F-VF R1, EF-AU R2, MS R3

Fortin Variety Rarity Estimates In VF - Mint State

Variety	Rarity	Suggested Premiums	Variety	Rarity	Suggested Premiums
101	R7	-	113	R3	-
102	R2	-	114	R6	150-300%
103	R1	-	114a	R3	-
104	R3	-	115	R4	-
105	R3	-	116	R4	30-50%
106	R3	-	117	R3	-
106a	R4	-	118	R5	-
107	R4	50-100%	119	R5	-
108	R2	-	120	R4	-
109	R2	-	121	R3	-
110	R4	50-100%	122	R3	-
111	R4	30-50%	123	R4	-
112	R3	-


Comments: Most 1856 dimes come reasonable struck except for Variety 109 due to die lapping.  Since this date is common 
and nice circulated examples are always available, it is an ideal date for variety collectors to hunt down the numerous 
obverse dies that are either doubled, repunched or have misplaced dates. There are six obverse dies with varying levels 
of die doubling with the proof obverse being the most dramatic.  Obverse 8, with die doubling to the east, can be found  
easily in both the early or lapped die state.  Dealers will occasional ask a premium for this variety however it is 
common and can be cherry picked with some patience.  Finding the obverse variety with the shield doubled north will be more 
challenging.  Small Date 1856 dimes are rarely seen with die cracks or very late die states indicating a balanced usage 
of dies to produce the large mintage of 5.78 million pieces (inclusive of Large Dates).
  
Value As A Date (Coin World Trends/CoinValues)

Grade	1963	1973	1983	1993	2003	2010
G	1	2.75	5.5	5	20	12
F	2.5	5	17	12.75	30	16
EF	-	15	50	35	65	50
MS60	15	110	450	225	400	350
MS63	-	-	-	750	800	550

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