1888

Philadelphia struck 5,496,487 dimes in 1888, a mid-tier figure for the closing decade that sits roughly half the previous year's 11.28-million-piece output and well above the smaller deliveries earlier in the 1880s. The pullback from the 1887 peak reflects routine working-stock cycle smoothing rather than any policy shift; the parent mint was supplying commercial demand at the pace the channels could absorb, and the year settles back into the normal high-volume range for the late series. The coin is a Legend, No Arrows issue under the 1873 weight standard of 2.50 grams, with no mintmark on the reverse and wreath placement unchanged from the 1860 obverse transition. The same-year San Francisco 1888-S contributed an additional 1,720,000 pieces from the West Coast branch.

Strike characteristics on the year follow the standardized late-Legend Philadelphia pattern, with full head detail on Liberty, sharp shield rivets, and clean wreath veining arriving consistently across the delivery. Survivors are common through Very Fine and Extremely Fine, where the coin did its working life through the 1890s and into the early 20th century, and About Uncirculated examples are available at routine intervals without difficulty. Mint State pieces surface in usable quantity through MS-64, with MS-65 a comfortable target for collectors building a higher-grade run, and MS-66 the realistic upper tier for the issue. The 1888 occasionally produces minor die-state varieties (light date repunching, working-die anomalies) catalogued in the standard Seated dime references; none has risen to separately-priced major-variety status. Authentication is straightforward: the 2.50-gram weight, 17.9-millimeter reeded edge, and absence of any mintmark on the reverse confirm the Philadelphia origin, and the Legend obverse leaves no opening for added-mintmark fraud of the type that affects the 1888-S.

For a date-and-mint Seated Dime set, the 1888 is one of the comfortable circulated and Mint State fills of the closing decade, with the Regular classification fitting the issue accurately. Collectors building the 1880s Philadelphia sub-run will find the date a routine acquisition at any worn grade and a reachable target through MS-65 with original surfaces. The same-year 1888-S, which trades at a meaningful premium across all grades despite its 1.72-million-piece run, is the typical branch-mint price counterpart for the year. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1892 Barber Dime transition, and the series' production arc, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.