1823 1823/2 Large Es

Every 1823 Capped Bust dime is technically an 1823/2 overdate, and the Large Es reverse is one of the two ways collectors split the year. The Philadelphia Mint did not cut fresh dies for 1823 production. Instead, leftover 1822-dated dies were repunched with a 3 over the 2, which means the overdate (a new digit struck atop an older one on the working die) is the standard appearance for the entire date, not a separate rare subvariety. Under magnification, traces of the underlying 2 remain visible inside the loops of the 3. The Large Es designation refers to the size of the letter E in the reverse legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, specifically the Es in STATES. On this die those Es are noticeably taller and broader than on the companion Small Es reverse, and side-by-side comparison is the cleanest way to confirm attribution. The John Reich Collectors Society catalogs this marriage as JR-3 and related die pairings. JR refers to that specialist society, which assigns the standard die-marriage numbers used across auction catalogs and grading-service labels. Combined 1823 production reached 440,000 pieces across both reverse styles, and the Large Es is generally the more available of the two, though scarce in absolute terms.

Authenticating this issue starts with the reverse letters. The diagnostic is mechanical: compare the height and width of the Es in STATES against published JR die plates, since a coin sold as Large Es with Small-sized Es is either misattributed or altered. Weight should sit at 2.7 grams on a calibrated scale, and diameter at 18.8 millimeters. Cast counterfeits run off-weight, show a grainy or pebbly surface under a loupe, and lack the crisp reeding of a struck silver piece. Tooled examples sometimes have the overdate strengthened by hand, so the underlying 2 should read as a natural die feature rather than an engraved line cut after the fact. A holder from a major grading service (TPG, third-party grader, with PCGS and NGC being the two principal companies) settles the question, and the label will state the JR variety alongside the grade. Most survivors fall in well-circulated grades, with Mint State (MS, uncirculated, grades 60 through 70 on the Sheldon scale) pieces decidedly scarce and usually carrying soft strikes on the eagle's claws and shield lines.

Demand comes from two directions: type collectors who need a single Capped Bust dime for an album slot, and variety specialists who pursue both reverse styles of 1823. The Large Es typically satisfies the first group because it surfaces at auction more often than the Small Es. Original gray patina commands a premium over cleaned or retoned pieces, and strong central detail on the cap drapery and eagle drives price separation among similarly graded examples. For background on the John Reich engraving program and the diameter changes that closed out the series in 1837, see the Capped Bust Dime series history.