Barber Dime
The Barber Dime was minted between 1892 and 1916 and while this dime has a simple enough design the road to accomplishing that design was extremely long. Throughout the early 1880s New designs for coins were submitted by mint engravers throughout the early 1800s with little success. So in an effort to get fresh new designs mint officials opened a contest to the public. Out of over 300 drawings there was only mild interest in 2 of the designs and none were actually accepted. Head engraver Charles Barber wanted to design the new coins and was thrilled when he was directed to draw up the new designs for the coins including the dime.
When drawing up the plans for the dime, Barber modified the larger head used on the Morgan dollar by adding a liberty cap and cropping Liberty’s hair shorter in the back with a wreath on her head. He place his initial “B” on Liberty’s neck. Liberty faces right with the word LIBERTTY written in tiny bands above her forehead.For some people the Barber dime also called the Liberty dime reminds people of what the Julius Caesar Coin must have looked like.
The reverse side of the dime is simple with the words One Dime written in the center of the coin surrounded by the same wreath as was featured on the sitting Liberty dime of 1860 through 1891.These dimes are made from 90% silver and 10% copper and weighs 2.5 grams.
The Main Importance of the Barber Dime
Charles Barber being a coin engraver himself understood the need to create a coin that could meet the striking requirements of the more modern high-speed presses and he managed to accomplish that goal. At one time 4 mints struck these coins Philadelphia which had no engraving letter. Denver (D series), San Francisco (S series), and New Orleans ( O series).
The Worth of the Barber Dimes Today
Various years of these dimes are worth various amounts from just a few dollars to several thousand of dollars depending on the year, the mint and most importantly the condition of the coin. The 1894S dime is one of the rarest coins that are existence today making it worth a great deal of money and much sought after by collectors. The Barber dimes are some of the first coins new collectors buy to begin their coin collections since these dimes are some of the cheapest to purchase.