10 Cents (Pattern)

The 1792 Disme: the first American dime, struck before the Mint had walls

In the summer of 1792, the United States had a law authorizing its own coins, a treasurer named David Rittenhouse, and not a single finished Mint building. So the first ten-cent piece was struck in a borrowed cellar. Spelled "disme," it is the direct ancestor of every dime in your pocket — and roughly two dozen are known to survive.