Inexpensive Type Coins Make Great Sets

By Mike Thorne, Coins Magazine January 03, 2012

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
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At some point in every coin collector’s life, he or she realizes that collecting everything is out of the question. (Louis Eliasberg was the exception here, of course, as he formed a complete collection of all known U.S. issues.) Usually the issue is cost, as there are many coins that are simply too expensive for ordinary collectors to contemplate owning.

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Another problem can be availability. That is, even if the collector is rich, there are some coins that are so rare that an appropriate example may not be offered during the individual’s collecting lifetime.

So what is the collector of modest means and finite life span to do? One possibility is to be satisfied with incomplete sets. As examples from my collecting life, I soon discovered that if I wanted to collect either Barber or Standing Liberty quarters, I would have to be content to form sets missing at least one key coin in each case (1901-S for the Barbers and 1916 for the Standing Liberties).

Another possibility that is particularly relevant for 19th-century issues is to collect by type rather than striving for complete date/mintmark collections. As Q. David Bowers explains in United States Coins by Design Types, “instead of collecting a single series or specialty by die varieties or mintmarks, a display is formed consisting of one each of many different motifs.”

In other words, rather than trying to assemble a set of all the different dates and varieties of nickel three-cent pieces, for example, the type collector is content to have just one nickel three-cent piece for his type collection. With this introduction, I will now list 10 early type coins that I consider to be interesting and relatively inexpensive. Each can be obtained in a nice, collectible grade at the present time for $100 or less. Note that my list is not intended to be exhaustive; I can think of at least as many additional early types that could be included in an inexpensive set as the ones I’ve chosen to discuss here.

1. Draped Bust half cent in Very Good-8. With a design by Robert Scot, a decent circulated Draped Bust half cent will be an impressive coin to show your non-collecting friends. Coined between 1800 and 1808, most of the dates had relatively large mintages, so finding one in VG-8 for $100 or less should not be terribly difficult.

If you have a choice of dates, the one to look for is 1803, with a mintage of just 97,900 pieces. The November 2011 edition of Numismatic News “Coin Market” assigns this date a value of $95 in VG-8 and $105 in Fine-12.

On one interesting variety of 1804 half cent, Liberty appears to have a spiked chin. With a listed value of $105 in VG-8, it’s possible that you can obtain a well circulated, but still presentable, example of this variety for $100 or less.

2. Draped Bust large cent in VG-8. Like the half cent, the large cent of this period was designed by Robert Scot. Also like the half cent, this is a suitably old and impressive type coin for your inexpensive early collection.

Although this series of large cents was minted between 1796 and 1807, you’re unlikely to find any of the pre-1800 varieties for less than $100, unless it’s in a condition that you wouldn’t want to include in your collection.

Beginning in 1801, however, you’ll find that most of the dates are valued at $100 or less in VG-8. Actually, the only date from 1801 to 1807 that is worth more than this is the 1804, which is a key date that lists for $1,000 even in About Good-3.

If you have a choice of dates, go for the 1806 at exactly $100 in VG-8. This is a coin with a mintage significantly below that of the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent, and you can be sure that 1806 large cents were not differentially saved.

3. Two-cent piece in About Uncirculated-Uncirculated. The two-cent piece was designed by James B. Longacre, who is better known for designing the Indian Head cent. This was a short-lived series minted between 1864 and 1872, with only proofs struck in 1873. The two-cent piece is perhaps most noteworthy as the first U.S. coin to display the motto “In God We Trust.”

If you haven’t priced two-cent pieces lately, you may be amazed to find that most of the early dates, between 1864 (large motto) and 1867, should still be available in AU-50 to Mint State-60 for $100 or less. The most expensive of these, the 1867, lists for $96 in AU-50; the earlier dates range between $88 and $98 in MS-60.

Of course, an MS-60 two-cent piece might be a real horror, with staining or damage but no wear. You may find that a nice AU-55 or -58 would be a more presentable coin for your set.

4. Nickel three cent piece in AU-Unc. Because of hoarding of all silver coins, including the silver three-cent piece, a nickel version of the denomination, with suitable design change, was introduced in 1865. The coin was also useful for retiring fractional currency of the three-cent denomination. Silver hoarding continued until 1876, after which the nickel three-cent piece became less useful and mintages (with one exception), dropped precipitously.

Designed by James B. Longacre, nickel three-cent pieces were coined between 1865 and 1889, with low mintages and some proof-only issues after 1876. The one exception to the low mintages in the latter years of the series occurred in 1881, when more than a million of the coin were struck. For type purposes, all of the dates through 1876 (and 1881) are valued at less than $100 in AU-50, with the 1876 (162,000 minted) having the highest value at $95 in this grade. In MS-60, three-cent pieces from 1865-1868 are worth exactly $100 each. As before, a coin in AU-55 or -58 might be more attractive than one in MS-60.

5. Capped Bust dime in Very Fine-20. Designed by John Reich, Capped Bust dimes were minted between 1809 and 1837, with minor design changes in 1828. Although some of the earlier dates are priced below $100 in F-12 (1820, 1821, 1823/22, 1825, 1827), dates with values appropriate for our inexpensive early type set are found in the dimes of the second variety, coined from 1828-1837.

Capped Bust dimes of the second variety valued at less than $100 in VF-12 are some of the 1829 varieties (medium 10 cents, small 10 cents), 1830 small and large 10 cents, and all of the dates from 1831-1837. Mintages are relatively large for the period, ranging from 485,000 to 1,410,000.

6. Seated Liberty dime in AU-50. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, Seated Liberty dimes, in one form or another, were minted between 1837 and 1891. Varieties include dimes with no stars on the obverse, dimes with stars, dimes on which the stars are replaced with “United States of America,” and dimes with arrows at the date. Seated Liberty dimes valued at less than $100 in AU-50 can be found in the group minted between 1875 and 1891.

Within this group, you’ll find a large number of dates to choose from. Examples include 1875, 1875-CC, 1875-S, 1882-1884, and 1887-1889. All of these have rather large mintages, which is why they’re so reasonably valued for coins in the late 19th century. Given the choice, I would probably opt for the 1875-CC because of the mintmark.

7. Capped Bust quarter in VG-8. There are two varieties of Capped Bust quarters, the large-size (27mm diameter) variety designed by John Reich and minted from 1815 to 1828 and the reduced-size version (24.3mm) designed by William Kneass and coined from 1831 to 1838. Kneass also omitted the motto above the eagle on the reverse.

Although several of the earlier version are valued at or below $100 in G-4 and would be well worth including in an inexpensive type collection, I’ve chosen to highlight the smaller coin, as it should be available in a slightly higher grade for the same money. In fact, with one exception (1834 O/F in OF), all of the dates from 1831 to 1838 are valued between $90 and $100 in VG-8. If you can afford a slightly better coin, you’ll find that the value listed for each in F-12 is either $110 or $115. With the exception of 1835, of which nearly 2 million were coined, mintages range from 156,000 (1833) to 832,000 (1838).

8. Seated Liberty quarter with motto in Extremely Fine-40. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, with motto Seated Liberty quarters were minted from 1875 to 1891. Several dates at the beginning of the series (1875-1878) and a few at the end (1888-S, 1891, 1891-S) had large mintages and should be available in a nice circulated grade for $100 or less. In EF-40, the following dates have values of $62.50: 1875, 1876, 1876-S, 1877-S, 1878, 1888-S, 1891, and 1891-S. In addition, the variety of 1876-CC with fine reeding lists for just $90 in EF-40.

Another Seated Liberty 25-cent type that I find appealing and remarkably inexpensive is the version with both arrows at the date and rays around the eagle. The purpose of the arrows and rays was to indicate that the weight of the coin had been reduced. All three date/mintmark varieties of this type are inexpensive, although none qualify for the under $100 in EF-40 category.

The 1853 arrows and rays quarter had a mintage of more than 15 million and lists for just $44 in VF-20. The same coin with a New Orleans mintmark had less than a tenth of the mintage and is worth $85 in VF-20.

In 1854 and 1855, the arrows were retained, but the rays were removed. With large mintages, both 1854 and 1855 list for $70 in EF-40. The “normal” variety of the 1854-O is worth just $60 in VF-20.

9. Bust Half Dollar in VF-20. Capped Bust half dollars, designed by John Reich and minted between 1807 and 1836, come in a bewildering array of variations and are great fun to collect. In fact, there’s even a well known organization of collectors of these coins. Called the Bust Half Nut Club, the club was formed “in the late 1960s as a group dedicated to collecting, studying, and sharing information among fellow members about Bust Half Dollars attributed by Overton [famous reference identifying different die pairs] die marriage.” Obviously, the BHNC is not appropriate for someone interested in just a type coin of this variety.

For the type collector, sizable mintages mean that there are many possibilities for your collecting pleasure. According to the second edition of the Professional Edition of the Red Book (A Guide Book of United States Coins), “Examples of most dates and overdates are easily found in just about any grade desired, from Fine and VF to MS.”

Dates listing for $100 or less in VF-20 begin to appear and become plentiful between 1821 and 1836. In fact, there’s at least one variety in the under-$100 category for each date during this period.

Of course, after you purchase one of these large and attractive coins, you may decide that you would like to pursue the whole series. From there, it’s an easy step to the BHNC.

10. Seated Liberty half dollar in VF-20. Seated Liberty half dollars were designed by Christian Gobrecht and were coined, often in sizable quantities, between 1839 and 1891. Within this lengthy period, there are varieties without the motto “In God We Trust,” with arrows and rays, with arrows only, and with the motto. In each case, the type collector should be able to find a number of dates that cost less than $100 apiece in VF-20. Toward the end of the run, from 1875 through 1891, several dates list for $100 or less even in EF-40.

In the first group of Seated Liberty halves, minted from 1839-1853, examples of dates worth less than $100 in VF-20 are 1839 with drapery, 1840 small letters, 1840-O, 1842 medium date, 1847, 1847-O, and 1850-O. The range of values for these dates is from $65 to $90.

As with the Seated quarters discussed above, 1853 brought a weight reduction to the Seated Liberty half dollar. In VF-20, the 1853 with arrows and rays lists for just $88.

In the run of motto-less Seated Liberty half dollars minted from 1856-1866, the majority of the dates list for less than $100 in VF-20. Several of these are valued at either $100 or $105 in EF-40.

The same can be said for many of the dates with mottoes, minted between 1866 and 1891. Mintages dropped a great deal after 1878, with the exception of 1891, and you will hard pressed to find any of these dates in the under $100 category in any grade.

Of course, it’s easy for me to list coins for an inexpensive type collection based on values found in “Coin Market.” The question is, “Can you really purchase nice coins at these prices?” From my limited experience, the answer is yes. In 2009, for example, I bought a certified VG-10 1831 Capped Bust quarter for $80. A little over a year later, I found an 1835 that I would conservatively grade F-12 for just $82.

I looked on eBay at finished auctions to see what some of these types were selling for. In each case, I was able to find coins that fit the grade and price criteria.

I will admit that some of the coins I saw were optimistically graded and sometimes wildly overpriced even when graded correctly. However, if you are willing to overlook the dross, you can find decent coins, and you should be able to obtain them for amounts in line with the information in this article.

Happy type collecting.

Historic 10-Cent Pieces Survive the Test of Time

By Tom LaMarre, Coins Magazine October 10, 2011

This article was originally printed in Coins Magazine.
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Its name may be French in origin, meaning a tenth part, but the dime is a purely American coin. When the first examples were struck in the 1790s, the Old French “disme” was used. By the early 1800s, “dime” had become the standard spelling, production had increased significantly and new designs had kept pace with the changing times.

It would be difficult to imagine American popular culture without the dime. The late 1800s gave rise to dime banks and dime novels. In the early 1960s, there were dime Cokes, candy bars and comic books. One thin dime would buy two packs of baseball cards.

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Because of inflation, the situation is different today. A tenth of a dollar doesn’t seem like much at all, unless it happens to be one of the rare dimes prized by collectors. The best sell for more than $1 million.

1796

Alexander Hamilton liked the idea of a dime—so did Benjamin Franklin and Mint Director David Rittenhouse. But the U.S. Mint didn’t strike its first dimes until 1796, although a small run of “dismes” was struck in the basement of a Philadelphia saw maker’s shop in 1792.

Using Draped Bust obverse and small eagle reverse dies engraved by Robert Scot, the Philadelphia Mint turned out 22,135 dimes in 1796. Researchers have learned that in addition to the reported mintage, 10,244 1796-dated dimes were struck on Feb. 28, 1797, and 6,380 on March 21, 1797.

Eccentric Texas millionaire E.H.R. Green owned a hoard of mint-state 1796 dimes. They were sold after his death in the 1930s.

Today, you can expect to pay around $25,000 for a Mint State-60 1796 dime, if you are fortunate enough to locate one. At the other end of the grading spectrum, a Good-4 example is valued at nearly $3,000, according to Coin Prices.

1822

Mint records indicate 100,000 dimes were struck in 1822. But this figure is probably incorrect, based on the rarity of 1822 dimes in all grades.

The actual mintage may have been closer to 50,000, including an estimated five proofs struck for VIPs or favored collectors.

The total mintage listed for 1822 probably included many dimes dated 1821, according to an article by Paul Green in Numismatic News.

Coin Prices lists the 1822 dime at values starting at $1,000 in G-4 and peaking at $70,000 for an MS-65. The value of a proof 1822 dime would have to be determined at auction but would definitely be in six figures.

One or more obverse dies dated 1822 were repunched in 1823 and used to strike more than 400,000 dimes. A Very Good-8 1823/22 dime is valued at around $50.

1829 ‘Curl Base 2’

It took a long time for the dime to become a familiar coin. In a report written in 1817, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams said that dimes were “seldom seen, never presented in their material images to the people” and “have remained utterly unknown.”

The situation wasn’t much different 14 years later. The March 11, 1831, issue of the Pittsburgh Gazette reprinted an item from the Boston Transcript, predicting the attempt to introduce dimes into more general circulation would “likely prove abortive.”

The absence of dimes from circulation was despite the fact the Mint struck fairly large quantities in some years. In 1829, for example, it produced 770,000 dimes. It was a banner year for dime varieties, including the rare 1829 “curl base 2.”

Apparently the “curl base 2” obverse die was retired after just brief use, because of a die crack running from the top rim through Liberty’s cap.

John McCloskey discovered the 1829 “curl base 2” dime in a dealer’s stock in Dayton, Ohio, in 1973. Additional examples have since come to light, but most of the survivors are worn or damaged.

Values for the 1829 “curl base 2” dime range from $7,750 for a G-4 specimen to $44,000 for an About Uncirculated example.

1844 ‘Orphan Annie’

The Philadelphia Mint struck more than 1.3 million dimes in 1843 and nearly 2 million in 1845. But in 1844 it turned out only 72,500, and survivors are even scarcer than the mintage might suggest.

Still, it took a long time for collectors to pay any attention to the 1844 dime. Frank C. Ross of Kansas City supposedly “discovered” the 1844 dime’s rarity in 1930. Inspired by the popular comic strip of the same name, he called it the “Orphan Annie dime” because he said it “had no buyers and was just an orphan in the coin world.”

Cynics say “baloney.” They claim the real reason Ross gave the dime such a build-up was that he owned a hoard of 1844 dimes and wanted to pump up their value. However, if you try to find an 1844 dime in a dealer’s stock today, you will most likely come up empty-handed and become a believer in “Orphan Annie” dime’s rarity.

In the 1930s, magazine articles and radio programs spread many legends about 1844 dimes. One story was that the coins were improperly alloyed, making them soft and susceptible to wear. This would explain why so few have survived.

Another explanation was that most of the dimes were melted at the Mint for an unspecified reason. As an alternative, you could choose just about any major disaster to account for the disappearance of the 1844 dimes: the great Johnstown flood, the Chicago fire or any one of a number of shipwrecks.

According to another legend, the dimes were made available to U.S. soldiers during the Mexican War, and, in turn, were given to senoritas.

Yet another story claimed the dimes were on a covered wagon destined for California forty-niners. Indians supposedly attacked and burned the wagon, stole the dimes and buried them for safekeeping. Later, the Indians themselves were killed, taking the secret of the dimes’ hiding place to their graves.

Myths aside, there is no denying the value of the 1844 dime. You can expect to pay around $3,000 for an MS-60 example. In G-4, an 1844 dime is valued at $275.

1846

No one paid much attention to dime mintages in 1846. There were more important things to worry about. On May 11, 1846, Congress declared that a state of war existed with Mexico.

Congress appropriated $10 million for the war effort and authorized President James K. Polk to call out 50,000 volunteers for military service.

The Philadelphia Mint didn’t strike enough dimes to provide even one for each soldier. The 1846 dime had a mintage of only 31,300, including an estimated 10 proofs.

Only a few mint-state survivors are known. An MS-60 1846 Philadelphia dime is valued at $5,500.

1873-CC ‘No Arrows’

The Coinage Act of 1873 increased the dime’s weight to put it on a metric basis. Dimes struck under the new standard were distinguished by arrowheads alongside the date.

Before the change went into effect, the Carson City Mint struck 12,400 1873 dimes without the arrows. But only one survivor is known.

Mint records indicate the 1873-CC “no arrows” dimes were shipped to a distribution point in February 1873. Then they seemed to vanish. Some numismatists think they were melted in July 1873 because banks didn’t need them.

In 1878, a dime described as 1873-CC “Old Style” sold at auction for 17 cents.

Wisconsin collector H.O. Granberg exhibited an 1873-CC “no arrows” dime at the American Numismatic Society in 1914. At a Wayte Raymond auction in 1915, it realized $170.

Subsequent owners of the 1873-CC “no arrows” dime included Rudolph Keller, Waldo Newcomer and Charles M. Williams.

Auctioned again in 1950, the unique dime brought $3,650. Dealers James Kelly and Sol Kaplan became the new owners, but not for long. In November 1950, Louis Eliasberg Sr. acquired the dime. It was the last coin he needed to complete his collection of U.S. coins.

The story of the 1873-CC “no arrows” dime came full circle in 2004 when it was displayed at the Nevada State Museum, formerly the home of the Carson City Mint.

Waldo Bolen paid $550,000 for the dime in 1996. Three years later, Jay Parrino acquired it for $632,500, and later put it on the market for $1 million.

1894-S Liberty Head

Designed by engraver Charles Barber, for whom they were eventually named, the Barber dime, quarter and half dollar went into production in January 1892.

Some collectors consider the dime the most attractive Barber coin. But that wasn’t the case when the design made its debut. The March 24, 1892, issue of the Olean Democrat reported, “The new coins from the Mint this year have run against various objections based on aesthetic grounds, especially the dime.”

Beautiful or not, many 1892 Barber dimes were set aside. However, the Panic of 1893 resulted in diminished demand for coins. In early 1894, the Treasury had a huge stockpile of dimes.

The San Francisco Mint struck only 24 dimes in 1894. Unlike some other rare coins, the 1894-S dimes were not created secretly or without authorization. They were listed in the Mint director’s Annual Report.

Why were they minted? Several theories have been suggested. One is that the San Francisco Mint needed exactly 24 dimes to balance its books at the end of the fiscal year.

Another is that San Francisco Mint Superintendent John Daggett ordered the dimes struck for himself and seven banker friends. Each supposedly received three dimes. Legend has it that Daggett’s daughter, Hallie, spent one for ice cream on her way home.

However, there is little documentation to back up the stories, just speculation or hearsay. According to an item in the San Francisco Call in 1895, the San Francisco Mint clerk received many letters from collectors requesting 1894-S dimes. The standard reply was that none were available.

Records indicate that five 1894-S dimes were sent to Philadelphia for assaying. This information disproves the theory the dimes were struck to balance the books. It also negates the story that Daggett and his banker friends received three dimes apiece.

A more plausible explanation for the striking of the 1894-S dimes came from the San Francisco Mint’s chief clerk, Robert Barnett. In the Nov. 8, 1895, issue of the Kendallville (Ind.) Standard, he was quoted as saying the San Francisco Mint had taken in a large amount of “uncurrent design” silver coins in 1894. As a result, it did not plan to strike any dimes that year.

“However, when nearly all of this subsidiary silver coin bullion had been utilized,” Barnett explained, “we found on our hands a quantity that would coin to advantage only into dimes, and into dimes it was coined, making just 24 of them.”

At the time the article was published, the 1894-S dime reportedly was valued at $5. Today, Coin Prices lists an MS-65 1894-S dime at $1.9 million.

1905 ‘micro O’

New Orleans was a busy place in 1905. A yellow fever epidemic—the city’s last—claimed 450 lives. A new program to combat mosquitoes eliminated any future threat.

In October, President Theodore Roosevelt accepted an invitation to visit New Orleans.

At the New Orleans Mint, it was business as usual. Since the late 1880s, the Mint’s presses often had been kept running on Sundays to meet the demand for dimes. In 1905, it struck more than 3.5 million. But only a small percentage were the “micro O” variety, discovered by Howard R. Newcomb in the 1940s.

Two obverses are known: one with the tip of the “1” to the right of Barber’s initial, and the other with the tip of the “1” directly below the “B.”

In MS-63, a 1905 “micro O” dime is valued at more than $1,500. Fine-12 specimens usually sell for less than $100.

1916-D Mercury

All eyes were focused on the Philadelphia Mint in 1916 as work progressed on outside artists’ designs for a new dime, quarter and half dollar. The design competition had gone smoothly, but transforming the models into finished dies was another matter.

Designed by sculptor Adolph Weinman, the Mercury dime may have been the least troublesome of the three new coins, but it still gave the Mint’s engravers a headache. The first Mercury dimes weren’t’ released until late October 1916, almost four months behind schedule.

The late start was only a partial explanation for the Denver Mint’s striking just 264,000 Mercury dimes in 1916. The entire production run was completed in November. Later the same month, Denver Mint officials were told to concentrate on quarter dollars. Production of other denominations was temporarily suspended.

Many people didn’t see their first Mercury dime until 1917. The Jan. 17, 1917, issue of the Reading Eagle reported:

“For several months the Mints at Denver, San Francisco and Philadelphia have been minting the newly designed coins at the rate of $40,000 worth a day. This sounds like an immense amount of small change, but it takes an immense amount to supply the population of the big country.”

Demand for Mercury dimes was strong in most areas. Many were saved as keepsakes. But there were few coin collectors in Colorado. Apparently, most of the 1916-D dimes went into circulation and stayed there, at least for a while.

Mint-state 1916-D Mercury dimes are expensive today. Coin Prices lists an MS-65 example with “full split bands” in the fasces on the reverse at nearly $50,000.

By modern standards, the 1916-D dime was a rarity from the time it was struck. It turned out to be the lowest-mintage Mercury dime, the only one with a mintage less than 1 million.

To put the figure into perspective, consider that it would have taken the entire production run to pay for the unique gold Studebaker chassis exhibited at the 1916 National Automobile Show. In an ad in the January 1940 issue of The Numismatist, Milwaukee coin dealer John R. Steward offered uncirculated 1916-D dimes for less than $10 each.

In 1996, Littleton Coin Co., of Littleton, N.H., displayed a hoard of 241 1916-D Mercury dimes at the American Numismatic Association convention in Denver. It may have been the largest assemblage of 1916-D dimes in Denver since the year they were minted.

Duplicating the hoard today would be a difficult feat. Even in G-4, a 1916-D Mercury dime will set you back around $1,000.

1942/1 Mercury

The Philadelphia Mint was a busy place in the autumn of 1941. Workers were preparing 1941-dated dies for the then-current year’s coinage and 1942-dated dies for the approaching year.

Apparently an obverse dime die received an impression from a 1941 hub and was sent to the annealing room for hardening. Upon its return, it was mistakenly placed alongside the wrong machinery and was given an impression from a 1942-dated hub.

Most of the 1942/1 dimes were distributed through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The May 1943 issue of Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine reported that Arnold Cohn of Kingston, N.Y., had discovered a 1942/1 Philadelphia dime. A second example was pictured in the June 1943 issue of Numismatic Review.

George Shaw of Brooklyn, N.Y., advertised 1942/1 dimes in the February 1945 issue of Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine.

In the 1990s, Littleton Coin Co. purchased 166 1942/1 dimes from an accumulation called the “New York Subway Hoard.”

The Denver Mint also struck 1942/1 dimes, but they were not widely known until the 1960s. The reason for the delay was that the Denver Mint overdate is not as distinct as the Philadelphia Mint variety. Only portions of the “1” are visible beneath the “2.”

The 1942/1-D dime was first pictured in the 1963 edition of Frank G. Spadone’s Major Variety & Oddity Guide. Its popularity and value have increased dramatically since then. In EF-40, the 1942/1-D dime is valued at $825, while the Philadelphia Mint overdate has a retail value of $750.

Into the Future

From the early Federal period to the Space Age and beyond, the dime has proven to be a real time traveler, surviving changing public tastes and economic conditions. Inflation may further diminish its purchasing power, and coins themselves might someday give way to some kind of electronic substitute. But the best historic dimes will maintain their lofty status as long as there are collectors who appreciate their rarity and remember their stories.

What to Buy to Begin Investing In and Building a Collection of Rare Coins

By Mark Ferguson on July 14, 2011 3:06 PM

By Tom LaMarre, Coins Magazine October 19, 2010

The U.S. Mint has struck billions of dimes in the past two centuries, from the original Flowing Hair version of the 1790s to today’s Roosevelt dime. Unquestionably, however, the greatest dime of all is the 1894-S Barber dime.

Coin dealer B. Max Mehl called the 1894-S dime “the rarest U.S. dime and probably the rarest small silver coin in the world.”

Only 24 examples were struck, for reasons which have been the subject of conjecture and speculation almost from the time they were “new.” Now there are an estimated nine survivors, any one of which is capable of selling for more than $1 million.

In July 2007, an 1894-S dime described as the finest known, graded Proof-66 by the Professional Coin Grading Service, sold for $1.9 million.

The Barber dime is named for its designer, Charles Barber. It had been around for only two years when the 1894-S dimes were struck. “The new coins out from the Mint this year have run against various objection based on aesthetic grounds, especially the dime,“ the March 24, 1892, issue of the Olean Democrat said.

The design may not have been an artistic masterpiece, but it did the job. By 1894, everyone was pretty much used to it. The novelty was gone, and so was any interest which might have been shown by hoarders.

The Barber dime, quarter and half dollar made their debut on Jan. 2, 1892. On Jan. 25, the Treasury Department ordered the Philadelphia Mint to suspend production of half dollars so it could focus on turning out more dimes. But the situation was only temporary.

The Treasury Department had millions of dimes in its vaults at the close of 1893. Demand for the coins was light, partly because of the Panic of 1893. As a result, dime production fell sharply in 1894 at all of the mints—San Francisco, New Orleans and Philadelphia.

San Francisco saw the greatest drop, even though the dime was the smallest denomination struck there. The San Francisco Mint had turned out more than 2 million dimes in 1893.

The financial panic that began late in 1893 changed everything. The Jan. 27, 1894, issue of the Woodland Daily Democrat joked, “Nowadays dimes are being drawn from circulation. At least the people who are forced into begging them report that to be the state of the money market.”

Because of the poor economy, the San Francisco Mint had 1.5 million dimes in storage at the end of fiscal 1894. That was on June 30.

In October, a newspaper reported Mint Director Preston had gone to Philadelphia to speed up the production of “fractional” silver coins—denominations smaller than the silver dollar. Demand was said to be greater than the supply available, especially in the West, which was served by the San Francisco Mint.

Nevertheless, San Francisco did not resume full-scale production of dimes until 1895, when it turned out more than 1.1 million. “Again, 10-cent pieces seem to be greatly in demand,” the New York Sun reported. Surviving 1894-S dimes have prooflike characteristics, something which is not unusual for coins struck from new dies.

The method for striking dimes had been described in a newspaper article several years earlier. First, silver bullion was melted into two-pound bars. The bars were then run through large rollers which flattened them into strips of dime thinness.

The strips were treated with tallow to prevent scratches. Planchets were cut from the strips and fed into the coinage presses by automatic machinery at the rate of 100 a minute.

The design and edge reeding were impressed at the same time, and the finished coins were dropped into a container and ready for counting.

Special trays were used to count the dimes. They had raised ridges, spaced at the exact thinness of a dime. The counter dropped coins into the tray and shook it rapidly to fill it and remove any excess dimes.

The 1894-S dimes were probably not subjected to such casual treatment. Although the two dozen examples were listed in the Mint director’s annual report, they attracted little attention. Most collectors were interested only in a coin’s date and design type, not mintmarks. There were no newsstand coin magazines or newspapers.

Some collectors did write to the San Francisco Mint, asking to purchase examples of the 1894-S dime. But they were told the coins were not available.

The question is: What happened to the rare dimes? Several theories have been suggested. One of the oldest is that when the books of the San Francisco Mint were being closed at the end of fiscal 1894, a shortage of $2.40 was discovered. Supposedly, 24 dimes were struck to make up for the deficiency.

The California Midwinter International Exposition ran from Jan. 27 to July 5, 1894, in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Newspaper publisher Michael deYoung came up with the idea of the fair. It included some exhibits from the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago the previous year. Is it possible the 1894-S dimes were struck as presentation pieces for visiting dignitaries?

A more widely held belief is that the superintendent of the San Francisco Mint, John Daggett, ordered the coins struck. Daggett was born in New York and moved to California in 1852 during the gold rush days. By the 1860s, he owned the Black Bear mine and was active in politics. He was superintendent of the San Francisco Mint from 1893 to 1897. Daggett retired to Black Bear, Calif., in 1897 and died there in 1919.

Daggett may have ordered the 1894-S dimes struck for himself and seven banker friends. According to the story, each of the men received three dimes. Legend has it that Daggett gave his 1894-S dimes to his daughter Hallie and told her not to spend them because they would someday be valuable. But it was a hot day, and Hallie supposedly spent one of the dimes for ice cream on her way home.

A newspaper article that was reprinted in the February 1951 issue of Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine seemed to corroborate the story of Hallie Dagget’s dimes. The article reported the sale of two 1894-S dimes. It also mentioned the legend that in 1894 “a banker in Ukiah” gave three 1894-S dimes to his daughter, who visited an ice cream parlor on the way home. Ukiah is located about 100 miles from San Francisco.

Earl Parker, a prominent San Francisco rare coin dealer, purchased the two dimes mentioned in the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine article. Later, the inscriptions on one or more custom-made holders for the 1894-S dimes perpetuated the legend of the Daggett dimes.

Hallie was 15 years old when the 1894-S dimes were struck—hardly the “little girl” of the ice cream story. In 1913 she became the U.S. Forest Service’s first woman “fire lookout.” Assistant fire ranger M.H. McCarthy recommended her for the job. In a May 1913 letter to Klamath Forest Supervisor W. B. Rider, McCarthy wrote:

“The novelty of the proposition which has been unloaded upon me, and which I am now endeavoring to pass up to you, may perhaps take your breath away, and I hope your heart is strong enough to stand the shock. It is this: One of the most untiring and enthusiastic applicants which I have for the position is Miss Hallie Morse Daggett, a wide-awake woman who knows and has traversed every trail on the Salmon River watershed, and is thoroughly familiar with every foot of the District.

“She is an ardent advocate of the Forest Service, and seeks the position in evident good faith, and gives her solemn assurance that she will stay with her post faithfully until she is recalled.”

Hallie worked at Eddy’s Gulch Lookout Station, atop Klamath Peak, from 1913 until the late 1920s. Her annual tour of duty began in June and lasted four to seven months.

Hallie died in 1964 in Etna, Calif., never having verified the 1894-S dime legend. The “ice cream dime” story was not popularized until the early 1970s, by numismatic writer James Johnson, who owned a worn 1894-S dime often cited as the “ice cream dime.” Gimbel’s coin department had purchased it over the counter in 1957. Johnson sold it in 1981 for $27,500.

Another circulated 1894-S dime turned up in circulation in 1911 and was acquired by a collector named Romito. It sold for about $35,000 in 1990 and is now graded About Good-3.

In a letter published in the February 1949 issue of The Numismatist, a Texas collector, Louis Goodwin, said his prize possession was an 1894-S dime in “very good” condition. Goodwin said he had owned the coin for more than 20 years.

The April 1956 issue of the “Koin Klubber,” published by the Honolulu Coin Club, reported an 1894-S dime had been discovered in Hawaii. Apparently the claim was not verified, but the idea was not as far-fetched as it might have sounded. San Francisco was the departure point for Hawaii-bound travelers, and it was in 1894 the Republic of Hawaii was created.

Possibly the earliest published reference to the 1894-S dimes, aside from the listing in the Mint director’s annual report, was an article in the San Francisco Call. It was reprinted in several newspapers across the country in 1895. Among them was the Nov. 8, 1895, issue of the Kendallville (Ind.) Standard:

“A Valuable Dime. Whoever has a dime of 1894, coined by the San Francisco Mint, has a coin for which $5 has already been offered, and when all the facts are known regarding its scarcity, it is not unlikely it will command a much higher premium.

“Inquiry at the Mint elicited the information that during the fiscal year of 1894 only 24 dimes were coined at the San Francisco Mint. How this came about was told by Chief Clerk Robert Barnett.

“‘All incurrent subsidiary coins, viz., those containing other than the design now being used, when received at the sub-treasury, are not again allowed to go into circulation, but are sent to the Mint to be re-coined with the current design.

“‘In the course of the year 1894 we received a large sum in these coins, but having an ample stock of dimes on hand, it was not intended to coin any of that denomination in 1894.

“‘However, when nearly all of this subsidiary coin bullion had been utilized, we found on our hands a quantity that would coin to advantage only into dimes, and into dimes it was coined, making just 24 of them.

“‘My attention was first drawn to the matter particularly by the receipt of a letter from a collector somewhere East requesting a set of the coin 1894. In filling this order, I found there were no dimes of that date on hand. Subsequently I received quite a number of similar letters, and in each case was, of course, unable to furnish the dimes.

“‘Plenty of dimes were coined that year at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints, but there are many collectors who accumulate the coinage of each Mint, as each has its distinguishing mark. Those coined here bear a letter ‘S’ under the eagle. New Orleans used the letter ‘O,’ and Carson City the letter ‘C,’ while Philadelphia coins are identified by the absence of the letter. “‘We receive each year about 50 requests from coin collectors for coins, mostly for those of silver.’ ”

Actually, there was no eagle on the reverse of the dime. The “S” mintmark appears below the wreath on the reverse. Furthermore, it was the Charlotte Mint—long defunct by 1894—which had used a single “C” mintmark. Carson City used a “CC” mintmark, the only two-letter mintmark in the United States.

The San Francisco Mint’s June 30, 1894, closing report on the amount of silver bullion on hand showed a total in an exact round figure. It was an unusual occurrence, to say the least. The San Francisco Mint had received dime dies in January 1894, but had not used them. Nor were any dimes struck in the final six months of 1894 for circulation, after the 24 1894-S dimes were struck to even out the bullion account.

The Sept. 12, 1895, issue of the Bucks County Gazette noted that “plenty” of dimes were struck at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints in 1894. But it said there were “collectors who accumulate the coinage of each Mint,” and the 1894-S dime was a rarity.

In 1900, Augustus G. Heaton bragged that he owned the only known 1894-S dime. “The San Francisco Mint takes proudly to itself the sensation of later U.S. coinage in striking but $2.40 worth of dimes, or 24 pieces in all, in the year 1894,” he wrote in the March 1900 issue of The Numismatist. “Of these, the writer possesses the only one known to the numismatic world.”

But another 1894-S dime was reportedly found in circulation later the same year. George Heath wrote in The Numismatist:

“J.C. Mitchelson of Kansas City, who has been spending much time in San Francisco, writes that he has uncovered an 1894-S dime. Mint authorities there inform him that while 24 were originally struck, only 14 went into circulation, the remaining 10 being re-struck. None remain in the Mint.”

The only corroborated information in the report was that 24 1894-S dimes had been struck and none were left at the Mint. Mitchelson bequeathed his collection to the Connecticut State Library, but apparently there was no 1894-S dime.

Writing in The Numismatist in 1928, Farran Zerbe repeated the legend the 1894-S dimes had been struck to balance the books:

“To close a bullion account at the San Francisco Mint at the end of the fiscal year, June 30th, 1894, it was found necessary to show 40 cents, odd, in the year’s coinage. The mint not having coined any dimes during the year, the dime dies were put to work, and to produce the needed 40 cents, 24 pieces were struck, any reasonable amount of even dollars over the 40 cents being readily absorbed in the account. It has been stated that at the time no thought was given by the Mint people that a rarity had been produced, it being supposed they would, as always in the past, be ordered to coin dimes before the close of the year. It so happened that no dime coinage was ordered and the unintentional error was not realized until the year’s coinage record was closed.”

Citing information he said was obtained at the San Francisco Mint in 1905, Zerbe wrote that “Mint people” obtained two or three of the coins and the rest were supposedly placed in a bag with other dimes released for circulation. The story was never verified.

Thanks to information unearthed by researchers and authors Richard G. Kelly and Nancy Oliver, it is known a total of five Special Assay 1894-S dimes were sent to Washington from the San Francisco Mint—two on June 9, 1894; two additional examples on June 25; and a last piece on June 28.

It’s possible some of the 1894-S dimes were kept as souvenirs by members of the Assay Commission, although assay coins were supposed to be melted after they were tested. Sometimes assay members substituted other coins.

Regardless of the real explanation for their existence, there was no denying the rarity of the 1894-S dime. It was the subject of an item in the Asheville Citizen, reprinted in the March 5, 1909, issue of the Greenville, S.C., Herald-Journal:

“Valuable Dimes. That dimes bearing the date of 1894 and the letter ‘S’ are indeed scarce is evident from the fact that although the Citizen some weeks ago published that a dime of this description is worth $50, no one has claimed to have located one of them.

“But sundry other dimes have been brought in by people who inquired if they were of value to coin collectors. Some showed the 1894 date but bore no S, while others were stamped with an S, but were not coined in 1894.

“The S indicates that the coin was minted at San Francisco.”

One of the earliest coin price guides to list the 1894-S dime was C.H. Shinkle’s U.S. Coin Values and Lists, a thin booklet published around 1910. Shinkle, a Pittsburgh rare coin dealer, valued the rare dime at $50 and included it in a “List of Rare U.S. Coins.”

In 1937 a reader asked The Afro American newspaper what his 1894 dime was worth. The answer? $200 or $300 if it was struck at the San Francisco Mint. However, the coin’s owner was advised that if his coin was from New Orleans or Philadelphia, it was worth only face value.

In 1949, a classified ad in the Chicago Tribune offered $500 for an 1894-S dime. Six years later, another ad offered $1,000.

Some unusual advertising campaigns in the 1960s kept the 1894-S dime in the public eye. In 1962, a car dealership’s newspaper ad said, “Find an 1894-S dime and this car is yours.” The car was a new Plymouth Valiant, and the ad stated, “This is not a contest.”

In 1965, Reno Dodge advertised a new car for only 10 cents. The catch was that it had to be an 1894-S dime.

In the long run, neither offer would have been a good deal. Today, the value of the finest 1962 Plymouth Valiant or 1965 Dodge is insignificant compared to the price tag for an 1894-S dime.

The amount of 1894-S dime information available has also increased since the 1960s. Based on the most reliable source—the chief coiner’s explanation in 1895—the 1894-S dimes were struck to use up the San Francisco Mint’s supply of silver for re-coinage.

Some 1894-S dimes were used for assay testing, refuting the theory 24 dimes were divided equally among Superintendent John Daggett and seven friends.

But it’s also certain at least a few 1894-S dimes were spent, including one that might have been Hallie Daggett’s famous “ice cream dime.”

The figures have changed—from $5 to more than $1 million—but the sums commanded by 1894-S dimes continue to make headlines.

Nothing less would be worthy of the “World’s Greatest Dime.”

Mintage Numbers Collapse
January 19, 2010

By Dave

Is this the year the Mint suspends the coinage of some denominations completely?

That is a question that needs to be asked in light of the collapse of production in 2009.

Overall production dropped by 65 percent last year, or 6,593,580,000 pieces from the 2008 level of 10,141,580,000.

The 3,548,000,000 total mintage from 2009 wouldn’t even be a reasonable number for cents from one facility alone in a normal year.

Collectors who grew up wondering things like why were no half dollars produced in the years 1930, 1931 and 1932, or no quarters in 1931 and 1933, now are seeing a replay of how a weak economy causes a rapid drop in the demand for coinage.

Economic statistics showed that retail sales dropped 6.5 percent last year, something not seen since the Depression.

Fewer transactions mean less demand for coins.

Throw in desperate people raiding every coin container they ever possessed just to try to keep food on the table and the combination adds up to a drastic fall in coin demand.

In 2009 the Mint tried to manage the production reductions at an even pace. Except for dimes, the Mint was remarkably able to divide what work there was evenly between the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.

The only high level of demand occurred for gold and silver coinage. Demand for those coins reflect fear of inflation and/or the unknown by buyers.

This, too, has a parallel in the high mintages of gold $10s and $20s during the Depression before President Roosevelt banned gold ownership in 1933.

The 4,463,000 mintage for the gold $10 in 1932, the record for the Saint-Gaudens Indian Head series, was caused by the same type of panicky demand for gold that we are seeing with American Eagles today.

This demand also is reflected to a lesser degree in the mintages of the 1931 and 1932 $20s.

Roosevelt after banning gold ownership to end the panic, devalued the dollar and tried to induce inflation. By this action he proved the hoarder’s fears to be justified, but persistent deflation rather than inflation dogged the economy.

Are we in a period of similar paradox where fear of inflation actually produces deflation?