1829 Small/Large 10C

The 1829 Small/Large 10C Capped Bust Dime is a repunched-denomination variety, meaning a working reverse die that received two impressions from two different sizes of denomination logotype punch. A logotype punch is a hardened tool engraved with the "10 C." inscription that the die sinker drove into the soft reverse die to sink the denomination. On this variety the die sinker started by punching the Large 10C logotype, then a second punch with the Small 10C logotype was driven into the same area of the die, leaving evidence of both sizes visible on every coin struck from that working die. The result is sometimes catalogued as Small Over Large 10C, and the overlap shows most clearly at the "1" and the "C." where the two punch sizes did not line up. The 1829 Mint year saw the Philadelphia engravers cycle through four denomination-punch sizes, Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large, and the Small/Large overpunch is a working-die correction made before the die went to press. Mintage figures break out only at the date level, with 770,000 dimes total reported for 1829 across every reverse die used, so the Small/Large subset cannot be isolated. The piece carries a specific JR marriage number from the John Reich Collectors Society, the standard reference body that catalogs every Capped Bust die pairing, and surviving populations sit in the low hundreds across all grades.

Authentication runs through the reverse. Both punches must be visible, the larger "10 C." showing under or behind the smaller "10 C.," with the clearest overlap at the right edge of the "1" digit and at the period after the "C." Compare directly against the published JR die plates, which photograph the exact overlap pattern at high magnification, since no other diagnostic confirms the variety. Genuine pieces weigh 2.7 grams on a 18.5 millimeter planchet struck in .8924 fine silver, and cast counterfeits give themselves away through grainy texture, soft rim definition, and weight that drifts outside that standard. Slabs from PCGS and NGC, the two leading third-party grading services known as TPGs, attribute the variety directly on the label as "Small/Large 10C" or "Small Over Large 10C," which makes certified examples the safest path for buyers who do not own the JR plate book. MS, meaning Mint State, designates a grade of 60 or higher reserved for coins that never circulated.

For the four-way denomination-punch experiment of 1829, the John Reich marriage system, and where this die correction sits among the other 1829 sub-types, see the Capped Bust Dime series history.