1890-S

San Francisco struck 1,423,076 dimes in 1890, a routine-volume branch-mint output that sits between the smaller 972,678-piece 1889-S the year before and the larger 3,196,116-piece 1891-S that would close the S-mint program the following year. The figure is well above the three S-mint Key years of 1884-86 and well below the 4.45-million-piece 1887-S peak; the coin functions as one of the easier S-mint fills of the closing decade. The coin is a Legend, No Arrows issue under the 1873 weight standard of 2.50 grams, with the S mintmark inside the wreath on the reverse, below the bow, in the standard placement used continuously across the post-1856 San Francisco dime program. The same-year Philadelphia 1890 at 9,911,541 pieces is the high-volume parent-mint counterpart.

Strike quality on the year runs at the standard branch-mint baseline of the late series, with most examples showing reasonable central detail on Liberty's head and the upper shield, sharp shield rivets, and clean wreath veining on the reverse. Softness on the ribbon bow can appear on later working-die states, but the overall quality is more consistent than the small-run S-mint issues of 1884-86 earlier in the decade. Survivors are common through Very Fine and Extremely Fine, where the coin did its working life on the West Coast through the 1890s, with About Uncirculated examples available at routine intervals and Mint State coins present in usable quantity through MS-63 and MS-64. MS-65 is reachable for collectors with patience, and the higher MS grades thin out in the way typical of working-issue branch dimes from the closing decade. Authentication relies on the 2.50-gram weight, 17.9-millimeter reeded edge, and the S mintmark placement; counterfeits exist (an S added to a Philadelphia 1890) but at low fraud pressure compared with the 1884-86 S-mint Keys.

For a date-and-mint Seated Dime set, the 1890-S is one of the easier S-mint fills of the closing decade, with circulated examples through Very Fine routinely available and Mint State coins reachable at moderate cost. The Regular classification fits the issue accurately. A small premium over the parallel Philadelphia 1890 persists in the market from set-completion demand, but the date does not approach the Key tier and trades comfortably for collectors building either the 1890s sub-run or the broader date-and-mint set. 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.