1804 Draped Bust Dime. JR-2. Rarity-5. 14 Stars Reverse. EF Details--Scratch (PCGS).This originally and attractively toned example exhibits blended steel-blue, dove gray and reddish-apricot patina on the obverse, the reverse with cobalt blue peripheral highlights around a reddish-apricot center. Softness in isolated areas is due to both incompleteness of strike and light high point wear, although sharper detail is evident, especially in the more protected areas of the design. With appreciable satin luster evident as the surfaces dip into a light, this is a desirable EF early dime despite a faint, well concealed scratch over the lower right obverse that explains the PCGS qualifier.<p>The 1804 dime was produced in small quantities, only 8,265 pieces in total, down sharply from the previous year. Two die pairs were employed, JR-1 using a reverse die with 13 stars above the eagles head, and this, the JR-2 with 14 stars. It is this reverse die where the story is particularly interesting for students of early mint operations. When the Heraldic Eagle reverse was first designed for the quarter eagle back in 1796, the 13 stars above the eagles head wore arranged in straight almost cross-like patterns, an identifying feature of dies by John Smith Gardner. In 1798, Chief Engraver Robert Scot rearranged the stars in an arc with a single star flanking each side of the eagles head. The older cross-patterned stars reverse were all retired by 1799, except for this inexplicable die with 14 stars. Because the pattern fits Gardners design aesthetic, it is believed this die was engraved before the switch to the arc layout and it was noticed that there was an extra star so was set aside for a rainy day. Evidently that day came in 1804 when it was put into use for both the quarter eagle and the dime. While the obverse designs were completely different, the reverses of both the Heraldic Eagle dimes and quarter eagles were the same. In fact, because the diameters of the two denominations were essentially identical, this permitted the Mint to use the reverse dies interchangeably between the two coins since there is no mark of value on the reverse die, a useful bit of cost savings for the always budget-conscious Mint officers. Such is the case here with the JR-2 dime. It is not absolutely certain which came first, the dime or the quarter eagle, because the cracks on this die were not severe, the precise sequence has not been conclusively determined. The current consensus is that this reverse die was used on the BD-2 quarter eagles first, lapped, then repurposed to coin all the JR-2 dimes. The JR-2 dime is the rarer of the two varieties and with only one single exception is found in circulated grade levels of preservation. Highly coveted by numismatists for generations, the addition of a choice mid-grade example is a noteworthy event.
