1804 Dime Error List with Pictures
An exceptional 1804 fourteen-star dime sold for $632,500 in 2008, graded AU58 with CAC approval. That reflects a rare coin’s preservation, not a separate price for a small error.
These 1804 Draped Bust dime errors have estimated whole-coin ranges of $2,000–$100,000 for the circulated examples discussed below. Thirteen-star and fourteen-star backs need different comparisons.
Read on to separate original metal flaws, damaged stamping tools, and reported striking mistakes.
1. 1804 Draped Bust Dime Lamination (Estimated Up to $25,000)
A thin layer of silver may peel away, leaving a flap or irregular shallow patch. Collectors call this lamination, a separation within the metal used to make the coin.
The 1804 report does not identify a particular coin or either back-side star count. Its location and extent therefore need to be checked on an actual example.
This is different from small empty pockets near the date on a documented fourteen-star dime. Pits alone do not prove that a layer peeled off.
Look for the separating layer and its boundary, rather than relying on a label.
Estimated Value
Estimate $2,000–$25,000 for a genuine circulated example, as a whole-coin range. The scarce 1804 date accounts for much of that price.
A thirteen-star coin graded ANACS AU55 Details sold for $30,550 in 2013. That offers a sharper-coin comparison, not a lamination sale.
A small peel does not automatically add money to an otherwise similar dime. Missing important design or heavily disturbed surfaces can reduce appeal even when the defect began at the Mint.
How to Identify
Use a magnifier along the edge of the rough patch. Look for a thin layer separating from the silver, rather than isolated pits or a scraped groove.
Leave an attached flap in place. Check both faces for corrosion, tool cuts, or metal pushed aside by a later blow.
Read the date and count the stars above the eagle. The flaw must stay connected to the actual thirteen-star or fourteen-star coin being examined.
Use a scale and calipers against about 2.70 grams and 19.8 mm, allowing for wear or missing metal. Inspect the edge grooves of this roughly 89.24% silver type.
For the quickest first check, find a thin peeling boundary before calling a rough patch lamination.
2. 1804 Draped Bust Dime Planchet Voids (Estimated Up to $35,000)
Small empty pockets cluster near the beginning of the date on a documented fourteen-star JR-2 dime. Its holder described it as NCS VF with a metal-disc flaw.
The auction description treats those openings as original defects, rather than later damage. That judgment concerns this particular coin.
Voids are spaces where metal is missing. They do not require a loose flake or prove that a whole layer peeled away.
Another early dime with pitting needs its own examination; corrosion or a casting defect can look superficially similar.
Estimated Value
An estimated $3,000–$35,000 covers collectible circulated fourteen-star dimes with original voids. The whole-coin price depends on remaining detail, surfaces, and how much the flaw affects the picture.
No realized price is assigned here to the NCS VF example. VF describes a circulated coin with clear remaining detail.
The $30,550 thirteen-star AU55 Details sale from 2013 concerns another back design and condition. It shows the date’s value, without setting a separate premium for these voids.
How to Identify
Keep the whole date visible under a magnifier and locate the cluster near its first digits. Then count fourteen stars above the eagle and compare the JR-2 variety.
Inspect the walls of the openings under changing light. Look at how the nearby struck surface meets them, rather than judging only their darkness.
Corrosion, punctures made later, or pores in a cast copy need different explanations. The documented holder label should not simply be copied onto another coin.
Use a scale and calipers against about 2.70 grams and 19.8 mm, then examine the edge grooves. Start by matching the small cluster beside the beginning of the date to the documented fourteen-star example.
3. 1804 Draped Bust Dime Rim Cuds (Estimated Up to $50,000)
Two long raised patches sit along the left front rim on the documented thirteen-star dime. One lies above stars 1–2 and the other above stars 3–4.
These rim cuds formed when pieces broke from the edge of the steel stamping tool. Silver filled the openings during the strike, leaving raised metal on the coin.
The example was graded PCGS VF20. Its back also has a depression below I in UNITED, but that mark’s cause was not established.
The unexplained depression is separate from the two known front-side rim breaks.
Estimated Value
Estimate $3,000–$50,000 for circulated thirteen-star examples from heavy wear through strong VF detail. The rare date and original surfaces account for much of this whole-coin range.
No sale price is recorded here for the documented PCGS VF20 coin. Its photographs provide the comparison for the two rim breaks.
The $30,550 thirteen-star AU55 Details sale in 2013 concerns a sharper coin with different condition issues. It should not be treated as the price of the VF20 cud example.
How to Identify
Hold Liberty upright and follow the left rim past the first four stars. Under a magnifier, compare the two elongated patches above stars 1–2 and 3–4.
Count thirteen stars above the eagle before selecting the JR-1 comparison. An irregular rim on the fourteen-star version is not automatically the same variety.
Look for raised silver connected to the original struck border. A dent, folded rim, or added-metal repair can make a different kind of lump.
Check about 2.70 grams on a scale, 19.8 mm with calipers, and the grooves around the edge. For a quick identification, match both front rim patches without relying on the unrelated back-side depression.
4. 1804 Draped Bust Dime Clashed Dies (Estimated Up to $50,000)
Faint cloud, wing, and tail shapes appear beside Liberty even though they belong to the eagle side. These extra outlines are reported on the Parmelee thirteen-star dime.
The two stamping tools collided without a coin between them. They picked up marks from each other and later passed those shapes onto struck coins.
This is called a die clash. The transferred lines follow parts of the opposite picture rather than forming random cracks.
The same coin can also have cracks and other marks, but nearby lines should not all be called clashing.
Estimated Value
Estimated whole-coin values for circulated JR-1 clash examples run from $3,000–$50,000. The rare date and condition explain much of that range.
Heritage sold the Parmelee-Lovejoy dime for $30,550 in April 2013. It was graded ANACS AU55 Details because of scratches; AU55 indicates light wear.
That price covers the complete coin and its condition issues. It does not measure a separate clash premium, and full crack and clash estimates should not be added together.
How to Identify
Compare the flat areas beside Liberty with the clouds, wing, and tail on the back. Use a magnifier and moving light to find shapes that correspond to that opposite design.
A scratch cuts into the surface without reproducing the same cloud or feather outline. A deep backward picture pressed into a coin would also need another explanation.
Keep the thirteen-star back visible in the comparison. The fourteen-star JR-2 uses a different tool and should not supply a substitute image.
Use a scale and calipers against about 2.70 grams and 19.8 mm, then inspect the edge grooves. Begin by matching a recognizable cloud, wing, or tail contour beside Liberty to the opposite face.
5. 1804 Draped Bust Dime Cracked Dies (Estimated Up to $50,000)
A raised line runs from above star 13 through Liberty’s chin and face on the fourteen-star JR-2. It continues through her hair toward the left base of B in LIBERTY.
Other branches connect T toward the temple and star 10 toward the nose, with more cracking near the bust. The thirteen-star JR-1 has its own head, chin, and star-area paths.
These lines came from cracks in the steel stamping tools. Silver filled the narrow openings during striking.
They are raised on the coin, rather than splits through the coin’s metal.
Estimated Value
Use an estimated $2,000–$50,000 whole-coin range for worn examples, roughly Good through VF. Good has heavy wear, while VF preserves much more of the design.
Keep the thirteen-star and fourteen-star versions separate when comparing prices. The crack itself is not the main reason these rare dimes cost so much.
PCGS records a fourteen-star AU58 CAC at $632,500 in 2008. That exceptional higher-grade result is outside this circulated range, not a price for one crack.
How to Identify
Count the back-side stars first, then use a magnifier on the matching front. For JR-2, trace the line from above star 13 through the chin and toward B.
Check the branches toward the temple and nose without combining them with the different JR-1 pattern. An isolated cheek line is not enough.
Tilt the light to see whether the line rises above the surface. Scratches and old weight-adjustment cuts sink into the metal instead.
Use a scale and calipers against about 2.70 grams and 19.8 mm, then examine the edge grooves. For a quick match, follow the complete connected crack route on the correct thirteen-star or fourteen-star variety.
6. 1804 Draped Bust Dime Off-Center Strike (Estimated Up to $75,000)
A plain crescent beside missing picture detail can show that the metal disc sat off-center during striking. Part of the stamping tools missed the disc, while part of their design extended beyond it.
The 1804 year list reports this category without a graded specimen, amount of shift, or back-side star count. Those details are not established here.
Early dimes can also have weak or uneven borders from ordinary production. A genuine off-center strike needs more than that.
Both faces should support the same displaced strike beside original unstruck metal.
Estimated Value
A genuine circulated example with a readable date has an estimated whole-coin range of $5,000–$75,000. This combines the rare 1804 date with a substantial striking-error allowance.
It is an estimate, not a recorded 1804 off-center sale. The actual coin would need a close comparison.
An 1821 Large Date dime struck 30% off-center brought $2,640 in December 2022, graded NGC XF Details with cleaning. That later design and less rare date cannot be priced as an 1804 unchanged.
How to Identify
Compare both faces to see whether missing outer design lines up with a plain crescent. A shifted front opposite a normally centered back can point to one misaligned tool instead.
Read 1804 directly and count surviving back-side stars where possible. Do not guess the star variety from a partial image.
With a magnifier, inspect the plain area for original texture rather than filing or polishing. An altered rim can create false blank space.
Use a scale and calipers against about 2.70 grams and 19.8 mm, and check the edge grooves. Start by matching the displacement on both faces with the same intact unstruck area.
7. 1804 Draped Bust Dime Double Strike (Estimated Up to $100,000)
Two strikes can leave overlapping portraits, letters, or date fragments on one coin. Their positions depend on how the piece moved between the blows.
The 1804 year list reports double strikes without identifying a particular specimen, direction, or star count. Those details must be read from the coin being examined.
One repeated edge beside a letter does not establish two strikes. It might come from a feature already on the stamping tool or movement during one blow.
The broader arrangement on both faces must show separate impressions that fit the same two-strike event.
Estimated Value
Estimate $7,500–$100,000 for a genuine circulated example with convincing separate strikes and a readable date. This is a comparison-based whole-coin range, not an auction record for the reported category.
The rare date, clarity of both impressions, and original surfaces would strongly affect the result. A specific candidate needs its own assessment.
The $30,550 thirteen-star AU55 Details sale shows the underlying date’s scale. It does not supply a confirmed double-strike price or establish the added premium by itself.
How to Identify
Under a magnifier, trace the two sets of picture details across the coin. A repeated date should agree with the shifted portrait or lettering, with supporting evidence on the back.
Check for crushing or incompatible backward impressions from coins pressed together later. Local extra outlines alone do not prove another blow in the Mint press.
Keep the readable date and star arrangement visible in full photographs. Use a scale and calipers against about 2.70 grams and 19.8 mm, allowing for altered shape.
Inspect the edge grooves for tool damage. For the quickest useful check, connect a second date or letter group to the same displaced second picture across both faces.
Conclusion
Estimated whole-coin values for these circulated 1804 dimes span $2,000–$100,000. The rare date explains much of the price, while each flaw still needs a matching physical feature.
Count the back-side stars, preserve the surfaces, and compare the complete coin. Several cracks or clash marks can describe one valuable dime without creating several prices to add together, and reported striking categories still need evidence from an actual specimen.