Barber dime: $3.76 in silver
Front1914 Barber dime (type coin shown)
BackSame coin typeEvery Barber dime (1892 to 1916) is 90% silver and holds 0.0723 troy ounces of pure silver. Most are worth more than that because of their age, and the rarest dates are worth far more. The silver price today is $51.93 per troy ounce.
Melt value is the metal only. It is not what the coin sells for: collectors pay for date, mint mark and condition. This page does not show collector prices. Price guides: PCGS, NGC.
Barber Dime: weight, size and metal
| Version | Weight | Metal in one coin | Metal value now |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90% silver90% silver, 10% copper | 2.5 g | 2.250 g silver (0.0723 oz t) | $3.76 |
Designer: Charles E. Barber. Edge: reeded. Mint mark: On the reverse, beneath the wreath. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. Metal in one coin = weight x the metal's share; metal value = grams ÷ 31.1035 grams per troy ounce, times the silver price. The copper in the silver alloy is not counted, as everywhere on Lustre.
What a group of Barber dimes is worth in metal
| Coins | 90% silver |
|---|---|
| 1 | $3.76 |
| 10 | $37.56 |
| 100 | $375.63 |
| 1,000 | $3,756.28 |
Metal value at the live price, before any dealer discount and with no collector premium. The face value of 100 coins is $10.
Barber Dime dates collectors look for
| Date | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| 1894-S24 reported (proofs) minted | One of the rarest US coins. Very few are known. |
| 1895-O440,000 minted | The lowest business-strike mintage of the series. |
| 1896-O610,000 minted | A low mintage New Orleans coin. |
| 1901-S593,022 minted | A low San Francisco mintage. |
| 1903-S613,300 minted | Another low San Francisco mintage. |
| 1913-S510,000 minted | The lowest of the later years. |
Mintages are the figures in the sources listed below. This page does not list collector prices.
Barber Dime mintage by date and mint
Mintage by date and mint 75 rows
Mints: Philadelphia (no mark), New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S) and, from 1906, Denver (D). Business-strike figures; the 1894-S is shown with its 24 reported proofs.
| Date and mint | Mintage |
|---|---|
| 1892 | 12,120,000 |
| 1892-O | 3,841,700 |
| 1892-S | 990,710 |
| 1893 | 3,340,000 |
| 1893-O | 1,760,000 |
| 1893-S | 2,491,401 |
| 1894 | 1,330,000 |
| 1894-O | 720,000 |
| 1894-S | — |
| 1895 | 690,000 |
| 1895-O | 440,000 |
| 1895-S | 1,120,000 |
| 1896 | 2,000,000 |
| 1896-O | 610,000 |
| 1896-S | 575,056 |
| 1897 | 10,868,533 |
| 1897-O | 666,000 |
| 1897-S | 1,342,844 |
| 1898 | 16,320,000 |
| 1898-O | 2,130,000 |
| 1898-S | 1,702,507 |
| 1899 | 19,580,000 |
| 1899-O | 2,650,000 |
| 1899-S | 1,867,493 |
| 1900 | 17,600,000 |
| 1900-O | 2,010,000 |
| 1900-S | 5,168,270 |
| 1901 | 18,859,665 |
| 1901-O | 5,620,000 |
| 1901-S | 593,022 |
| 1902 | 21,380,000 |
| 1902-O | 4,500,000 |
| 1902-S | 2,070,000 |
| 1903 | 19,500,000 |
| 1903-O | 8,180,000 |
| 1903-S | 613,300 |
| 1904 | 14,600,357 |
| 1904-S | 800,000 |
| 1905 | 14,551,623 |
| 1905-O | 3,400,000 |
| 1905-S | 6,855,199 |
| 1906 | 19,957,731 |
| 1906-D | 4,060,000 |
| 1906-O | 2,610,000 |
| 1906-S | 3,136,640 |
| 1907 | 22,220,000 |
| 1907-D | 4,080,000 |
| 1907-O | 5,058,000 |
| 1907-S | 3,178,470 |
| 1908 | 10,600,000 |
| 1908-D | 7,490,000 |
| 1908-O | 1,789,000 |
| 1908-S | 3,220,000 |
| 1909 | 10,240,000 |
| 1909-D | 954,000 |
| 1909-O | 2,287,000 |
| 1909-S | 1,000,000 |
| 1910 | 11,520,000 |
| 1910-D | 3,490,000 |
| 1910-S | 1,240,000 |
| 1911 | 18,870,000 |
| 1911-D | 11,209,000 |
| 1911-S | 3,520,000 |
| 1912 | 19,349,300 |
| 1912-D | 11,760,000 |
| 1912-S | 3,420,000 |
| 1913 | 19,760,000 |
| 1913-S | 510,000 |
| 1914 | 17,360,230 |
| 1914-D | 11,908,000 |
| 1914-S | 2,100,000 |
| 1915 | 5,620,000 |
| 1915-S | 960,000 |
| 1916 | 18,490,000 |
| 1916-S | 5,820,000 |
About the barber dime
Charles Barber, the Mint's chief engraver, designed the dime, quarter and half dollar in 1892. They carry a classical Liberty head with a cap and laurel wreath, and a wreath on the dime's reverse, so they are called Barber coins. The dime was struck from 1892 to 1916.
Barber dimes circulated heavily, so many are worn. The Mercury dime replaced them in 1916. Because they are 90% silver, each one holds the same silver as a Mercury or Roosevelt dime dated before 1965.
What the sources say
- History CoinWeek (Q. David Bowers, 2021) says Charles Edward Barber became the sixth Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint in 1880, after the death of his father William Barber.
- rarity CoinWeek (Q. David Bowers, 2021) calls the 1894-S dime perhaps the single most famous Barber coin, of which only 24 are said to have been struck.
- rarity CoinWeek (2015) notes that The 100 Greatest United States Coins by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth rated the 1894-S dime as the sixth most desirable coin ever struck by U.S. mints.
- History Numismatic News (2018) says the final Barber coinage designs were chosen at a meeting of President Benjamin Harrison's Cabinet, and the Mint director then ordered that coinage begin on Jan. 1, 1892.
Sources for these notes
CoinWeek: “Charles Edward Barber became the sixth Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint in 1880, following the death of his father, Chief Engraver William Barber”
CoinWeek: “Perhaps the single most famous of his coins is the 1894-S dime, of which only 24 are said to have been struck.”
CoinWeek: “The 100 Greatest United States Coins by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth rated the 1894-S dime as the sixth most desirable coin ever struck by our mints”
Numismatic News: “the final designs were chosen at a meeting of President Benjamin Harrison’s Cabinet. The Mint director then ordered that coinage begin on Jan. 1, 1892.”
Quick answers
How much silver is in a Barber dime?
Each one weighs 2.5 g and is 90% silver, so it holds 2.25 g or 0.0723 troy ounces of pure silver.
What is the rarest Barber dime?
The 1894-S, with 24 reported struck, all proofs. Of the business strikes, the 1895-O (440,000) has the lowest mintage.
Where is the mint mark on a Barber dime?
On the reverse, beneath the wreath. A dime with no mark was struck at Philadelphia.
Is a Barber dime worth more than its silver?
Yes in nearly every case, because the coins are over 100 years old. Melt value is only the floor; collector prices are not listed here.
Silver dime valueMercury dimeJunk silver calculatorMint marks explained
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Sources: Barber coinage (specifications, mint mark location, history); Barber Dime Mintage (mintage by date and mint). Photo: 1914 Barber dime (type coin shown), Brandon Grossardt (image), Charles E. Barber (design). Public domain. Facts checked 2026-10-30. Metal prices: Lustre market data (gold-api.com feed).
