Capped Bust Dime

Replacing the Draped Bust Dime just like it did with its half dime equivalent, the Capped Bust Dime came to be. It was back in 1809 when the Capped Bust Dime was first minted and circulated. Created by John Reich, the Capped Bust Dime had a design which closely mimics its half dime counterpart during the era.

You’ll find the Lady Liberty facing the left side on the obverse of the coin. This is flanked by 13 stars – 6 stars on the right and the rest…7 stars on the left. The word LIBERTY is printed on the Lady Liberty’s mobcap that holds her hair. Along with that, the year that it was struck appears at the bottom of the obverse side of the Capped Bust Dime.

The reverse side of the coin shows an eagle – equipped with the Union Shield on its breast. At the same time, the eagle is gripping 3 arrows on its right claw and an olive branch on the left claw. At the bottom of the Capped Bust Dime’s reverse, there appears the value of the coin which is 10 C or 10 CENTS. This is topped off by the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA which is arced along the top and the words E PLURIBUS UNUM printed on a ribbon right above the eagle.

About 2 decades later, in 1828, the Capped Bust Dime was replaced by another dime which has the same design but differs a little in size. It has a diameter of 18.5 millimeters. That’s about 0.3 millimeters smaller than the original. This very minor change, however, caused a little confusion. The older ones came to be known as the large size while the newer Capped Bust Dimes came to be known as small size.

The Capped Bust Dime continued to be minted and circulated until 1837 when the Seated Liberty Dime came to be.