Can someone tell me about an 1861 dime and it's likely value?

Answer 1

The US dime produced in 1861 weighs 2.49 grams and is 90% silver, giving it an ASW (Actual Silver Weight) of 0.0721 troy ounces. The depiction of Liberty seated with a shield was designed by Christian Gobrecht, the third Chief Engraver of the United States, and the design (or slight variants thereof) was used on US dimes produced between 1837 and 1891, as well as on Quarters (1838-1891), Half Dollars (1839-1873) and Dollars (1840-1891).

1,884,000 dimes were produced at the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania mint in 1861. According to the Standard Catalog of World Coins, an example would be worth about US$12.50 in Good condition, about US$15.00 in Very Good condition, about US$17.00 in Fine condition, about US$20.00 in Very Fine condition, about US$35.00 in Extremely Fine condition, about US$72.50 in About Uncirculated condition, about US$135.00 in Uncirculated condition, about US$1,250.00 in Brilliant Uncirculated (MS-65) condition, and about US$1,400.00 in Proof.

A further 172,500 dimes were produced at the San Francisco, California mint in 1861 (identifiable by a small "S" beneath the ribbon on the wreath on the back of the coin). An example would be worth about US$55 in Good condition, about US$90 in Very Good condition, about US$165 in Fine condition, about US$275 in Very Fine condition, about US$400 in Extremely Fine condition, about US$900 in About Uncirculated condition, and about US$1.400 in Uncirculated condition.