1871 Proof

Philadelphia delivered 960 proof dimes in 1871, the same year the Carson City Mint produced its first dime in a 20,100-piece run that became one of the defining Key Dates of the series. The proof program sits in counterpoint to that Carson City scarcity: comfortable in volume by Reconstruction-era standards, four-figure-bordering, and aimed at the active collector subscription base that had been rebuilding through the late 1860s. The matching business strike was 906,750. The proof continues under the Legend No Motto subtype with "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" arcing where Gobrecht's original obverse stars had stood; the dime carries no IN GOD WE TRUST motto. The 2.49-gram weight standard set by the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853 still governed planchet preparation, and the 17.9-millimeter reeded edge is the standard diameter for the type.

Strike on the date reads as standard early-1870s Philadelphia proof work: deeply mirrored fields from polished dies, complete denticles around both sides, full drapery folds, and sharp wreath leaves on the reverse. Cameo and Deep Cameo PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, designations exist for the date in modest population counts; Brilliant proofs dominate the certified roster. Authentication is straightforward when the structural diagnostics line up: squared rims perpendicular to the fields, watery die-polish lines visible under a 10x loupe (a jeweler's magnifier), and the 2.49-gram weight on a 90 percent silver planchet. The most common impersonator is the prooflike business strike from a freshly polished obverse die, which can carry surface reflectivity without the rim squareness and full device strike that the medal press produces.

The 960 figure puts 1871 in the upper-middle of the Reconstruction-era proof range, and the certified population today reflects that relatively comfortable original delivery: PR-63 through PR-66 examples are routinely available and PR-67 examples surface from time to time, with Cameo and Deep Cameo coins drawing premiums proportional to the visual contrast. Most collectors approach the date through certified slabs in the PR-64 to PR-65 band where supply and demand meet. The Regular rarity badge on this page follows site convention for all proof entries; scarcity sits in the prose, not 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.