1792 Disme. Judd-10, Pollock-11. Rarity-6+. Copper. Reeded Edge. Specimen-8 (PCGS). CAC.Obv: A bust of Liberty with flowing hair faces left, the date 1792 below and the inscription LIBERTY PARENT OF SCIENCE & INDUS. around the border. Rev: A small eagle with spread wings is centered in the field with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border and the denomination DISME below. This is a wholesome coin for the assigned grade with pleasing light brown patina. The date on the obverse is sharp, much of Libertys portrait is outlined, and more than half of the peripheral inscription is legible. Reverse detail is a bit weaker overall, but the eagle is well outlined with the wing feathers quite bold. Denomination DISME faint, but legible, only a portion of the legend clear. The surfaces are microporous with a few wispy pin scratches in and around the central obverse, also around the reverse periphery. The most useful identifiers, however, are several tiny planchet pits on the obverse at the base of Libertys portrait, at the left border and, most prominently, around the letters LIB in LIBERTY.Clearly any 1792 issue is of special importance and interest, but the disme is truly foundational to our monetary system. It was the lynchpin of Jeffersons decimal plan, the small denomination that held the decimal place between the lowly cent and the mighty dollar. Jefferson conceived it as equal in value to the Spanish half pistareen, which he described as a coin perfectly familiar to us all. Though the disme was a key part of the 1792 experimental program, struck in both silver and copper, with edges that were both plain and reeded, the circulation dime program was bogged down early, as few depositors wanted their silver back in the small denomination, preferring dollars or half dollars instead.There are only three silver 1792 dismes known, making it one of the most august American rarities. In their excellent reference 1792: Birth of a Nations Coinage (2017), authors Pete Smith, Joel J. Orosz, and Leonard Augsburger recorded 19 distinct specimens of Judd-10 in copper with a reeded edge, the present example listed as number 16. One is silver-plated, one is graded Poor-1 (PCGS), and three are impounded (Smithsonian Institution, Byron Reed / Durham Museum, Independence National Historic Park). Most are well worn, as here. Three additional copper specimens are known, Judd-11, with plain edge, one of which is Mint State, although badly disfigured.Off the market since 1987, the present example is destined to be a showpiece in another highly regarded cabinet.From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection. Acquired February 1988. Earlier ex our (Bowers and Ruddys) sale of the River Oaks Collection of Pattern Coins, November 1976; our (Stacks) sale of January 1987, lot 515; Denis W. Loring; Kenneth Goldman.
