Bargain Collector: Closed Collar Capped Bust Dimes
Overlooked by many collectors, Capped Bust dimes remain one of the more approachable ways to own classic U.S. silver without spending a fortune.
Image courtesy Heritage Auctions.
In looking for one or more good series of classic United States coins, ones in which we might find some bargains, the recent volatility in the prices of silver and gold on the metals markets has made finding one a challenge. Fortunately, the price of all the precious metals has dropped from the recent spike in the last year, which can be a cause for hope for all of us who want to keep collecting, and not bankrupt ourselves in the process. So right now we’ll focus that hope on a series that many of us don’t look at too often, the Capped Bust dimes.
Two series in one
The design that is the Capped Bust series is one that spans from tiny to big, meaning from the little half dimes all the way up to the hefty half dollars. It’s a fair bet to think that many of us will gravitate to the fifty-cent pieces, simply because they are big and can be very handsome examples of classic United States silver. But the artistry of Mr. John Reich shouldn’t be overlooked on the dimes. They too can be an attractive set and series.
For those of us who haven’t delved too deeply into this series, it has a dividing point right at the year 1828. From 1809 up to 1828, these little silver guys were made with what is called an open collar strike. In 1828, a shift was made to what is called the closed collar strike. This made the dimes somewhat more uniform in appearance, and gave them all the precise same diameter. Here is where we will look to see if there are any bargains in this final decade of production.
Finding the grade and price point
As we often do, we’ll take a look at grades and prices, knowing that our usual price point of $100 per coin may be tough to meet. That price probably writes off any of them in a mint state grade. But still, we’re going to try.
The highs and lows of these dimes are as follows: in 1835 there were just over 1.4 million pounded out, while in 1837 the low point of these ten years comes in at 359,500. With these extremes, we might be forgiven for thinking that the 1837 issue is going to be a big bite in the wallet when it comes to making a purchase, and the 1835 (and a couple of the other higher-end dates) will be those that are easy on the budget. In a neat quirk, we’d actually be wrong.
In a grade such as VF-20, just about all of these dimes ring in at $120-$140. One variety of the 1828 and the 1829 do cost considerably more. But for the most part, the just-mentioned price tag will do the trick for us. And yes, that’s pretty close to our usual price point.
Curiously, we have found that several series have a jumping-off level in terms of grades. Very often it is some mint state grade that costs much more. But for these Capped Bust dimes, it is the jump from very fine, or VF-20, and extra fine, or XF-40, where we see the difference in some glaring way. The XF-40 coins tend to be double in price from their VF-20 kin.
Making sense of high and low mintages
Since we now have the possibility of a short set of VF-20 dimes to look at, we really can’t help but think about just why the lower mintages don’t correlate to absurdly higher prices. After all, that 359,500 for the 1837 is pretty low. To make a comparison or two, the 1916-D Mercury dime has a mintage of 264,000, and costs about $1K in a lousy grade like the ill-named “good” or G-4. The same holds true for the 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent. Why are these two pieces considered keys to their series, and why are they so furiously expensive when the lowest mintage date of these closed-collar Capped Liberty dimes is the same price as the common dates?
There is probably an entire host of answers to this question, but we’ll go with the idea that very few collectors really dig into this series of classic ten-cent pieces. Seriously. It’s fair to say there are probably legions of Mercury dime collectors, since the design has been a favorite for decades. The same goes for the Lincoln cents. And both of those key dates have been noteworthy among collectors for a long time. But the Capped Bust dimes? No, there’s just not a big base of folks hunting for them.
Starting simple, with a type coin
Perhaps obviously, the easiest way to put a toe in the water here, as it were, is to start with just one of these dimes. The 1835 and 1836 are the only years which saw the one-million mark exceeded, so they should be the simplest to find. But there might be others available as well.
Building from there
A single piece from any series is always a good starting point, but basically never a good ending point. We’ve said there are ten years of closed collar Capped Bust dime. If we add in all the varieties, we end up with seventeen possibilities, which really gives us an idea of how minting technology differed back then from the standards we enjoy today. But wherever we choose to begin, be it high mintage or low, this classic series of dimes is an interesting group, one that is sort of hiding in plain sight, and one which definitely has some bargains within it
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