1868 Proof

Philadelphia struck 600 proof dimes in 1868, the lowest figure since the formal subscription program had taken hold in 1859 and tying the 1869 delivery as the thinnest of the Reconstruction-era stretch. The matching business strike ran 464,000 pieces, comfortable by the standards of 1865 through 1867 but still well under the routine pre-Civil War volume. Specie payments remained suspended, greenbacks and fractional currency continued to dominate eastern commerce, and the dime's small planchet kept it outside the 1866 motto change that added IN GOD WE TRUST to the half and quarter. The obverse continues the Legend No Motto subtype with "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" where the stars once stood; the reverse wreath, the 2.49-gram weight under the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853, and the 17.9-millimeter reeded edge all hold.

Strike on the date reads typical of mid-1860s Philadelphia proof work: deeply mirrored fields from polished dies, complete denticles around both sides, sharp drapery and hair detail on Liberty, and full wreath leaves on the reverse. Cameo contrast, the strong visual difference between mirrored fields and frosted devices, appears on a fair portion of surviving examples but not uniformly; Deep Cameo PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, designations exist for the date in small numbers and trade at clear premiums when they surface. Authentication starts with the structural diagnostics of a medal-press strike: squared rims perpendicular to the field, the watery die-polish lines a 10x loupe (a jeweler's magnifier) reveals on the fields, and complete devices that prooflike business strikes from polished dies cannot match. The 2.49-gram weight on a 90 percent silver planchet anchors the physical check.

Sheldon-scale rarity for the 1868 proof sits at R-4, with surviving certified examples concentrated in PR-63 to PR-66 across the major services. Original proof sets broke routinely for type purposes through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which thinned the surviving roster well below the 600-piece original delivery and concentrated supply on the higher-grade end of the certified range. The Regular rarity badge on this page follows site convention; on the date as on every Seated proof, the catalog tier is carried by the narrative rather than the label. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1873 Coinage Act, and the series' proof program, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.