1805 Dime Error List with Pictures
An 1805 dime sold for $86,250 in August 2011 with extra marks at Liberty’s neck and chin and a raised crack near LIBERTY. Its exceptional condition explains much of that price.
The 1805 Draped Bust dime error list covers both features within an estimated whole-coin range of $1,000–$90,000. Read on to compare the marks without counting the same valuable coin twice.
1805 Draped Bust Dime Clashed Dies (Estimated Up to $90,000)
Extra outlines around Liberty’s neck and chin appear on the auctioned 1805 dime. The catalog calls them clash marks.
A die is the steel tool that stamps a coin. When the two tools meet without a metal blank between them, each can pick up traces of the opposite design.
Later coins may copy those unwanted shapes. The dime itself was not pressed against a second coin.
The reported example belongs to the JR-2 Four Berries variety. Four Berries names a normal back design, so the berry count alone is not an error.
Estimated Value
The PCGS MS66 example sold for $86,250 at Stack’s Bowers in August 2011. MS66 means no circulation wear and very few marks; CAC also approved its quality.
Estimate $1,000–$90,000 across worn through exceptional examples. The clash alone does not create that upper price.
A different Four Berries dime graded F12, with substantial wear, brought $1,740 in October 2025. That ordinary condition comparison was not identified as a matching clash example.
How to Identify
Inspect the neck and chin together with a magnifier. Keep the whole portrait in view before enlarging a single line.
Compare the extra shapes with the opposite design and the cataloged example. A clash copies recognizable design detail rather than adding a random cut.
Move the light to see whether a mark rises from the surface. A scratch usually cuts into it and may push metal up along its sides.
Use a scale and calipers against about 2.70 g and 19.8 mm, allowing for wear. Check the edge grooves for damage or repairs.
The useful match is transferred design detail around the neck and chin, not simply any line beside Liberty.
1805 Draped Bust Dime Die Crack near LIBERTY (Estimated Up to $90,000)
A raised line around ERT in LIBERTY appears on the same auctioned dime. It formed when silver entered a crack in the stamping tool.
The coin copied the opening as a narrow ridge. This is different from the silver coin itself splitting.
Another reported example shows the affected ERTY area extending toward star eight. A tool crack can grow as the tool continues making coins.
Not every example therefore shows the entire route. Compare the line with the correct picture instead of requiring all 1805 dimes to have the longer crack.
Estimated Value
Use an estimated $1,000–$90,000 whole-coin range from worn examples through exceptional unworn coins. The $86,250 auction record describes the ERT crack on the MS66 coin.
A separate Four Berries dime graded VF35 sold for $2,820 in October 2025. VF35 indicates circulation wear with much of the design remaining.
That sale compares condition, not the value of this crack. If a coin also has clash marks, price the complete coin once.
How to Identify
Begin at ERT in LIBERTY with a magnifier and low side lighting. Follow the ridge into the open space around the letters.
For the longer reported crack, compare the ERTY area toward star eight with its own picture. Do not require that extension on the auctioned example.
A scratch leaves a cut with disturbed edges. A tool crack produces a raised route that repeats on coins made from the same damaged tool.
Compare scale and caliper readings with about 2.70 g and 19.8 mm, and inspect the edge grooves. Use existing measurements for a sealed coin.
The quick check is a continuous raised path matching the pictured LIBERTY crack.
Conclusion
The estimated $1,000–$90,000 range prices the whole 1805 dime, including its condition. It is not a separate payment for each small mark.
Compare extra design shapes at the neck and chin for the clash, and a raised line near LIBERTY for the crack. Both can occur on one coin, while the normal Four Berries design simply helps choose the right comparison.