1876 Dime Patterns

About This Coin

Struck at the Philadelphia Mint within the Metric & Stella Patterns series (1874-1879), these 1876 dime pieces represent some of the most scientifically ambitious pattern production in American Mint history. The program explored creating American coins compatible with the international metric system and the Latin Monetary Union, which standardized gold and silver weights across France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. The dime patterns tested designs featuring Liberty with flowing hair or coiled hair alongside star-based reverses with metric-compatible denominations. Chief Engraver Charles Barber created the Flowing Hair designs while George T. Morgan contributed Coiled Hair versions, the same competition producing the famous $4 Stella gold patterns of 1879-1880. The year 1876 coincided with the nation's Centennial celebration, creating an environment of international ambition supporting the metric coinage concept. These patterns document the denomination-by-denomination work required to translate the metric ideal into reality, testing weights and compositions that would make American dimes interchangeable with European counterparts.