1829 Medium 10C

The 1829 Medium 10C Capped Bust Dime carries the baseline reverse logotype of the year, sitting in the middle of a four-tier punch series that also includes the Small 10C, Large 10C, and Extra Large 10C. Of those four reverse-size variants, the Medium punch reads as the "expected" or standard size against which the others deviate, and it is the most commonly encountered 1829 variety in the marketplace today. The dime is struck on the new reduced-diameter planchet introduced earlier in the decade, with John Reich's draped Liberty on the obverse and the perched eagle reverse standard to the type. A combined mintage of 770,000 covers every 1829 reverse-size and date-punch combination, so the Medium 10C represents the largest share of that production rather than a separate, smaller delivery.

Authentication begins with the reverse logotype itself. Collectors measure the height and width of the 10C denomination against published plates, then compare the result with the Small, Large, and Extra Large reference dimensions to confirm the Medium classification. The coin should weigh 2.7 grams on an 18.5 millimeter small-type planchet of .8924 fine silver, and the reeded edge should show evenly spaced, sharp reeds with no seam at the rim, since cast counterfeits often betray a soft, grainy field texture under low magnification. Strike sharpness on the stars and the eagle's claws also helps separate a genuine business strike from a transfer-die copy. Most collectors lean on a slab from a major grading service for attribution, because reverse-size calls are easier to verify against the holder label than to make confidently from a raw coin in hand. Survival across the entire 1829 issue is estimated in the low thousands, and Mint State examples of any reverse-size variant remain scarce regardless of how common that variant is in circulated grades.

Demand divides cleanly between two buyer groups. Type collectors filling a single Capped Bust dime slot generally pick the Medium 10C because it surfaces at auction far more often than the Small, Large, or Extra Large variants, and prices in circulated grades stay reachable for the date. Variety specialists, by contrast, treat the Medium as the baseline against which the three scarcer reverse-size punches are measured, and they accept that the easy availability of the Medium is what makes the others worth chasing. Original gray patina with light wear commands a clear premium over dipped or cleaned coins, and sharp central detail on the cap drapery and the eagle's claws separates examples within the same numerical grade. For the broader story of how reverse-size variants like this one fit into the type, see the Capped Bust Dime series history.