1820 Small 0

The 1820 Small 0 Capped Bust dime is one of two major date-size varieties struck at the Philadelphia Mint that year, paired with the Large 0 issue across a combined 942,587-piece production. A date-size variety is a marriage in which the numerals on the obverse were entered with a different size punch than another marriage of the same year, and on this issue the second digit of the year reads noticeably shorter and narrower than the broader, taller 0 used on its companion. The 1820 production carries added weight in the series because it followed a five-year hiatus: no dimes were struck for circulation dated 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, or 1819, so this is the first new dime to enter pockets in half a decade. The John Reich Collectors Society, a research group focused on early federal silver, catalogs the Small 0 work across multiple die marriages including JR-3, JR-4, JR-5, JR-6, JR-7, JR-10, and JR-11, with each pairing covering one obverse die joined to one reverse die. John Reich's large-type design at 18.8mm sits on a planchet of .8924 fine silver weighing 2.7 grams with a reeded edge.

Authentication starts with the date digits themselves, since the size of the 0 is the primary diagnostic for the variety. Compare the digit directly against published JR die plates from John Reich Journal references and confirm the 0 reads shorter and slimmer than the flanking 2, rather than rising to match it as on the Large 0. Weight should land at 2.7 grams on a calibrated jeweler's scale, and cast counterfeits typically run off-weight with a grainy, pebbled texture under 10x magnification rather than the crisp metal flow lines a struck coin shows. Slabs from the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and the Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), the two leading third-party grading services (TPGs), will carry the specific JR attribution on the label when handled by a specialist, which removes the guesswork at the buying counter.

Survivorship runs in the low thousands across all preservation levels, with Good through Very Fine examples forming the bulk of what trades and Extremely Fine pieces drawing focused attention from variety collectors. Mint State (uncirculated) coins are scarce but obtainable when the auction season runs full, and original gray patina commands premiums over dipped or harshly cleaned surfaces. The Small 0 reads as the slightly scarcer of the two 1820 date varieties in the marketplace and trades at a modest premium to comparable Large 0 examples, which makes it a target for specialists pursuing both date-size variants rather than the default pick for a single-coin date slot. For year-by-year mintages, the production gap of the late 1810s, and the full John Reich die-marriage roster, see the Capped Bust Dime series history.