1868

Philadelphia delivered 464,600 business-strike dimes in 1868, a sharp recovery from the 6,625-piece trough of 1867 and the first parent-mint figure since the Civil War to approach prewar production volume. The economic backdrop had not fully normalized, with greenback circulation still dominant in the eastern states and the December 30, 1861 specie suspension formally in force, but Treasury operations were starting to absorb more silver into bullion accounts and the Mint stepped its dime production back to a level that could serve when specie resumption eventually arrived. The 1868 occupies the recovery position in the calendar sequence rather than a numismatic landmark, sitting between the Reconstruction-era lows of 1865 through 1867 and the higher-volume production of the 1870s.

Strike on the 1868 follows Philadelphia practice for the Legend obverse era, with the central devices typically well brought up and softness when present gathering on the upper-obverse legend where UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arches above Liberty. The Legend obverse format opened in 1860 replaced the thirteen stars Gobrecht's original design carried, and the dime continued without an IN GOD WE TRUST motto because the planchet was too small to accept the ribbon banner that arrived on the larger silver denominations in 1866. Authentication rests on the 2.49-gram weight under the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853, a 17.9-millimeter reeded planchet, the Legend obverse, and the plain wreath reverse with no mintmark. Survival follows commercial-issue patterns: PCGS and NGC populations are broad through circulated grades from Good to Extremely Fine, About Uncirculated examples turn up regularly, and Mint State pieces above MS62 are obtainable but step into condition-rarity premiums at the gem level.

The 1868 trades as a regular date in the Seated Liberty series and serves as a sensible date-set acquisition at modest certified pricing, with the price ladder remaining shallow through About Uncirculated and rising more steeply only above MS64. Raw circulated pieces are widely available and broadly safe given the parent-mint pedigree. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the Civil War-era production, and the Carson City Mint, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.