1796 Draped Bust Dime

The first active duty United States dime was not coined until 1796, four years after the Mint opened for business.

The delay was caused in part because surety bonds of $5000 and $10000 (a HUGE sum in the 1790’s!!) were required of certain Mint officials before gold and silver coins could be struck.

The bonds were reduced, then finally paid, followed by the release of the half dime, half dollar, and silver dollar in 1794, and then gold coinage the next year. In 1796, the dime and quarter commenced.

The 1796 Draped Bust Dime featured a reverse with small eagle perched on a cloud. In 1798, a larger eagle format was implemented, which continued through 1807.

The 1796 Draped Bust Dime is not extremely scarce, but certainly qualifies as a rare coin, and is a worthy representative of the early US Mint. No collector will ever yawn at a 1796 dime.





1796 Draped Bust Dime


1796 Draped Bust Dime
Coin Photos courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries






1796 Draped Bust Dime Value Trend Chart

1796 Draped Bust Dime (G-4 Condition)

The 1796 Draped Bust Dime was the first ten cent coin produced by the United States intended for general circulation. The blue line above charts its "Index Score", or percent value increase, since year 2000, in G-4 condition. The red line monitors the progress of our Rare Coin Values Index, which is percent change over the same time period of a pre-selected group of 87 rare US coins, which included the 1796 dime. The objective of the Index is to graphically display the direction of the overall rare US coin market, and is updated every month. As you can see from the graph above, the 1796 Draped Bust Dime rates below the Index average, but nonetheless, should always be viewed as a desirable rare United States coin.


 

Members of the Rare Coin Values Index
Date Coin Type Grade Est. Retail Value Mar 2023
1793 Liberty Cap Left Half Cent G-4 4500
1802 2/0 Rev 1802 Draped Bust Half Cent G-4 1100
1793 Chain AMERI. Flowing Hair Large Cent G-4 10000
1794 Starred Rev Liberty Cap Large Cent G-4 35000
1799 Draped Bust Large Cent G-4 6500
1856 Flying Eagle Cent G-4 6500
1877 Indian Head Cent G-4 600
1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent G-4 625
1914-D Lincoln Cent G-4 170
1922-D (No D) Lincoln Cent G-4 550
1864 Small Motto Two Cent F-12 425
1865 Three Cent Silver PF-65 1750
1884 Three Cent Nickel F-12 1150
1795 Flowing Hair Half Dime G-4 1500
1797 Draped Bust, Small Eagle Half Dime G-4 1500
1800 Draped Bust, Large Eagle Half Dime G-4 1500
1865 Seated Liberty Half Dime G-4 325
1879 Shield Nickel VG-8 575
1885 Liberty Nickel VG-8 675
1913-S Type 2 Buffalo Nickel G-4 325
1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel G-4 775
1937-D 3 Legs Buffalo Nickel G-4 475
1796 Draped Bust Dime G-4 3500
1822 Capped Bust Dime G-4 2000
1871-CC Seated Liberty Dime G-4 3250
1895-O Barber Dime G-4 525
1916-D Mercury Dime VG-8 1250
1942/1-D Mercury Dime VG-8 425
1875-CC Twenty Cent G-4 250
1796 Draped Bust, Small Eagle Quarter G-4 12500
1804 Draped Bust, Large Eagle Quarter G-4 4000
1823 Capped Bust Quarter G-4 40000
1870-CC Seated Liberty Quarter G-4 9000
1896-S Barber Quarter G-4 750
1901-S Barber Quarter G-4 4750
1916 Standing Liberty Quarter G-4 2900
1918/7-S Standing Liberty Quarter G-4 1150
1923-S Standing Liberty Quarter G-4 300
1932-D Washington Quarter F-12 90
1794 Flowing Hair Half Dollar G-4 5500
1796 16 Stars Draped Bust Small Eagle Half Dollar G-4 42500
1815/12 Capped Bust Half Dollar G-4 1750
1836 Reed Edge Capped Bust Half Dollar G-4 1250
1870-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar G-4 900
1892-O Barber Half Dollar G-4 325
1921-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar VG-8 350
1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar VG-8 60
1953-S Franklin Half Dollar MS-65 FBL 27500
1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar G-4 75000
1796 Draped Bust Small Eagle Silver Dollar G-4 2000
1801 Draped Bust Large Eagle Silver Dollar G-4 1100
1836 Gobrecht Dollar, Name on Base, Circ. Issue XF-40 12500
1873-CC Seated Liberty Dollar G-4 12000
1879 Trade Dollar PF-65 6900
1889-CC Morgan Silver Dollar F-12 1250
1893-S Morgan Silver Dollar F-12 4000
1895 Morgan Silver Dollar F-12 (PF Only) 35000
1928 Peace Dollar F-12 225
1849-C Cl. Wreath Type One Gold Dollar VF-20 2500
1855-D Type Two Gold Dollar VF-20 25000
1861-D Type Three Gold Dollar VF-20 50000
1796 No Stars Capped Bust $ 2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 69250
1808 Capped Draped Bust $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 55000
1826 Capped Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 17000
1838-C Classic Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 4500
1848 CAL. Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 37500
1856-D Coronet $2.50 Quarter Eagle F-12 15000
1911-D Indian Head $2.50 Quarter Eagle XF-40 3750
1854-D Indian Head Three Dollar F-12 32500
1795 Capped Bust Small Eagle $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 28500
1800 Capped Bust Large Eagle $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 4500
1808 Capped Draped Bust $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 4000
1821 Capped Head $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 32500
1833 Large Date Capped Head $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 22500
1834 Cross 4 Classic Head $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 1950
1861-D Coronet $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 30000
1870-CC Coronet $5.00 Half Eagle F-12 30000
1909-O Indian Head $5.00 Half Eagle XF-40 8000
1795 9 Leaves Capped Bust Small Eagle $10 Eagle F-12 105750
1804 Capped Bust Large Eagle $10 Eagle F-12 20000
1841-O Coronet $10 Eagle F-12 9750
1879-CC Coronet $10 Eagle F-12 22000
1911-D Indian Head $10 Eagle XF-40 2350
1930-S Indian Head $10 Eagle XF-40 31250
1859-O Coronet $20 Double Eagle VF-20 20000
1907 Wire Rim St-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle XF-40 11000
1921 St-Gaudens $20 Double Eagle XF-40 47500


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See the 87 Index Coins