1871-S

The 1871-S dime was struck the same calendar year Carson City began producing silver coinage, and the San Francisco facility delivered 320,000 pieces while its inland neighbor managed only 20,100. That makes the issue a useful frame of reference for what a small but functional Western mintage looked like in the early 1870s, before silver coinage broadly retreated under the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873. The coin belongs to the Legend obverse subtype that ran from 1860 to 1873, where the thirteen stars had been replaced by "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" arcing around Liberty, and the wreath reverse continued with the S mintmark seated within it. Weight is 2.49 grams on a 90 percent silver planchet, the standard adopted under the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853 and carried through the pre-Arrows years that closed the Legend No Motto run.

Strike quality is uneven and follows a recognizable San Francisco pattern for the early 1870s: the obverse legend and Liberty's head can show full sharpness while the wreath leaves and ribbon bow on the reverse arrive softly impressed. Survival concentrates in Very Good through Very Fine, the working grades where the coin spent decades in Pacific Coast commerce, and Extremely Fine pieces with full reverse leaves take some hunting. Mint State examples exist but turn distinctly scarce above MS-62, and any survivor with original satiny luster and unmolested fields belongs in the condition-tier conversation rather than the type-coin pile. Authentication starts with the 2.49-gram weight, the 17.9-millimeter reeded edge, and an S mintmark seated above the bow knot in the wreath; altered-mintmark fakes from Philadelphia 1871 dies are uncommon but appear, and the mintmark punch alignment is the first place to look.

The 1871-S sits as the standard Western issue of the year, a coin that fills the S-mint slot in a date-and-mint set without delivering the headline rarity that 1871-CC carries on the same line. Circulated examples remain affordable in mid grades, About Uncirculated coins surface with patience, and Mint State pieces deserve a careful eye-appeal screen rather than a quick badge purchase. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1873 Coinage Act, and the Carson City Mint, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.