Seated.org
Seated Liberty Dimes 1837 - 1891
Rotated Reverse Seated Dimes by
Jason Feldman
Over the years I have grown increasingly fond of
coins with rotated reverses. For the most part these coins are extremely
difficult to locate. I have spent the last 3 years very actively
collecting and search for Seated Dimes with rotated reverses. I have
been able to discover several new coins and am still searching for more.
Rotated Reverse s can occur two different ways, one
is when mint employee installs the die incorrectly so the obverse and
reverse do not line up properly. When this occurs and the problem is
fixed there are no variations in the degree of rotation. The second is
when the coin is when the die becomes loose and then moves a little bit
as each new coin is struck. 1849 O is a perfect example of the result. I
have located 4 different degrees of rotation on the die pairing.
The following represent my research completed to
date.
1837
Dimes are often found with a 20 + degree rotated reverse.
These can be found paired with
the cracked obverse and clashed reverse.
One small date specimen comes with a strong crack on the reserve
at originating at the E in UNITED going into center of the coin.
This comes with a rotation of
about 30 degrees. There is a Large Date coin with a 40 degree rotation
that appeared on EBay. I have noticed some variation is the degree of
rotation for this date. All 1837 dimes are common.
1839
Dimes with a various degrees of rotated reverse and are common; however,
there is one know example of a single 85 degree rotated reverse.
This is very rare and a second
coin has not surfaced. These coins carry a significant premium.
1840 O
can be found with a slight rotation of about 20 degrees.
These are somewhat scarce as are
all 1840 O dimes in grades above VF. There is a noticeable repunching of
the sixth star. There is no premium associated with the rotation of the
dies but the obverse die is a new discovery and the coin does carry a
slight premium.
1841
Dimes with a 18 degree rotated reverse exist.
I have located a single example
with a rotation of 30 degrees. These are not too scarce and can be found
with some effort. All examples
located so far also have a repunched date. These coins carry a slight
premium.
1845 O
with a 15 degree rotation have been found.
As a second example has been
confirmed I suspected there are more. Due
to the minor rotation, many examples may be unnoticed. Both of the
examples I have seen are also the thick date and mint mark variety.
1849 O
is a year that produced numerous and rare rotated reverses.
The large O with a 52 degree CW
is the rarest of the group. It
is also the only rotated reverse dime from this year with the large O.
An AU coin appeared in a Stacks sale but I was unable to purchase the
coin, It was properly identified but I have not seen it reappear on the
market.The small 1849 O can be found with numerous different degrees of
rotation. These are fairly
scarce. All carry a premium. I
have been able to locate five different specimens from various die
states. One specimen is a PCGS graded MS62. 1849 O are very difficult to
locate in AU or better condition. I would suspect another mint state
coin with a rotated reverse would be hard to locate. Currently a PCGS
AU58 coin is on the market with an asking price of $2450.
1850 O
with a rotation of CW 45 degrees can be found.
These are very scarce.
There are a few that surfaced
but despite much looking, other examples have not surfaced.
These carry a premium if one
should surface. The finest example I have seen is a NGC grade AU55.
1853 Arrow
can be found with much looking. Because
of the massive quantity of 1853 dimes finding one can be a task.
One is a CCW rotation of 45
degrees and another with a CCW rotation of 30 degrees.
These both carry a premium.
1854 Arrows
have been found with a rotation of CW 65 degrees.
This is a very hard coin to
locate and I have only found 1 low grade example.
Others exist. This coin carries
a good premium when found,
1854 O
has been located with a rotation CCW of 50 degrees.
It is also the rare die pair of
the shattered obverse and oblique mintmark reverse.
Thus far only a single example
has been located and is the one discovered by the author. A second
example has been discovered with a 30 degree rotation. I have not seen
any other examples other than the die pairing of the shattered obverse
and oblique mintmark reverse. These coins carry a high premium as they
have a scarce die marriage in addition to the rotated dies.
1855 is
a year with a major rotation can be found.
These are very hard to locate
and because of the level of rotation are sought by both Seated Dime
collectors and rotated reverse collectors.
It is a rotated by 135 degrees.
The “OF” is very weak on the
reverse, I know of 5 examples, which is not surprising considering the
extreme level of rotation. Very
rare. These coins carry a strong premium when located.
1858
This is coin which has been recently discovered. 2 examples have been
found. The degree of rotation of
CW 45 degrees. Weakness is found on the Americ[a] on both known
examples. This coin is new discovered. It is unknown how rare this coin
will turn out to be as sufficient time for further examples to surface
has not yet passed.
1862 S
This coin is among my favorite. The
1862 S is finally being appreciated in higher grades.
Those with rotated reverse are
quite hard to locate. The
rotation is CCW 35 degrees. It
is to my knowledge the only rotated reverse seated dime from
1865
This is the key to the Seated Dime Series rotated reverses.
The Proofs have a mintage of 500
coins. These are extremely rare
with very few specimens surfacing. These coins are found with noticeable
die rust. The rotation is a full 180 degrees.
It is a spectacular coin if you
can locate one. All known specimens are Proofs. I have confirmed the
existence of 3 different examples of this coin. It was originally listed
as a business strike by Ahwash but since it has been accepted that all
examples are in fact proofs. These coins will carry a hefty premium if
offered for sale. I have only seen one offered for sale in the last few
years and gladly paid the price to purchase it.
1866
This has been seen in Proof condition with a rotation of 20 degrees. A
rough estimate of 1 in 20 coins has the rotated reverse. 1866 Dimes were
struck from 2 pairs of dies. One was used for proofs only and the other
was used only for proofs. These coins were struck from these proof only
dies listed as A1 Ahwash. These are slightly less common than coins
struck from the other die pair. Currently these coins carry no premium.
1875 S
This is found with a CW 50 degree rotation.
This is the below wreath
variety. These are very rare. A second example with a clear, unfilled
micro S is also known. These coins are found with a rotation of 20
degrees CCW. The micro S is much more difficult to locate then the small
S in general but I have found since all clear micro S coins come rotated
they are more common than the small S. All micro S 1875 dimes carry a
premium and therefore so do the rotated examples but not due to the
rotation. The small S coins clearly carry a hefty premium due to the
rotation. A few higher grade examples have turned up. While in writing
this article I was shown pictures of another 1875 S with what appeared
to be a rotation of about 75 degrees CW. Without the coin in hand I am
unable to draw further conclusions but it is likely that others exist.
1876
This has been discovered by the author and to my knowledge is the only
example to surface. The rotation
is a 85 CW rotation. The obverse
die shows a rather obvious blob on the obverse. I have search for a few
years in search of another example but thus far this is the only one to
turn up.
1876 CC
is a year with 2 different rotated reverse coins.
Due to the extremely large
mintage of this coin, cherry picking this has been very difficult.
One comes with a 120 CW
rotation. In addition to being a
rotated reverse, it is also a double die.
This is extremely rare.
The second is a CCW 45 degrees.
These are also very difficult to
locate.
Most of the Rotated reverse seemed to have occurred
on the early in the series. In my opinion these coins are very
underpriced based on their rarity and lack of availability. Putting
together a complete collection of the coins listed would prove to be a
major undertaking. In numerous cases there are less than 5 known and
those coins will not be available soon. I do not doubt more will surface
but in some case like the 1865 proof how likely is that there are many
more if any more to be found? If you know of any others not listed I can
be contacted at Jason@seated.org
and would appreciate know of the existence of other coins.