An extremely rare 1894 dime has sold at auction for more than a million dollars. It was bought at the Stack’s-Bowers Rarities Night Auction held by the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in Chicago on Thursday, August 16th, by Salt Lake City businessman and avid collector Dell Loy Hansen for a cool $1.32 million.
The dime was designed by Charles E. Barber, 6th Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint (1879-1917), whose stolid, practical, low relief designs — Liberty head in profile on the obverse, eagle and/or wreath on the reverse — held up so well to wear and tear that his coins continued to circulate well into the 1950s. The conservative look and longevity of the coins didn’t endear them to collectors initially, but the scarcity of the 1894-S dime put it in a class of its own among the Barber Coinage.
It’s a proof coin, one of only 24 1894-S dimes struck at the San Francisco Mint. It’s unknown why the San Francisco Mint only struck 24 of these dimes. Today only nine of those 24 are known to exist, and of those nine, two are heavily worn impaired proofs. The dime sold last week is graded PR-63 by the Professional Coin Grading Service, defined as an “average or slightly weak strike with moderate marks or hairlines.”
This acquisition fills a challenging gap for any collector of Barber Coinage and US Mint coinage in general. Hansen’s ambitious goal is to amass the first complete private collection of U.S. coins from 1792 to the present. This is known as the “Eliasberg Quest” after Louis E. Eliasberg, the only collector ever to reach this lofty goal.
Mr. Hansen, a Utah businessman and partner of [David Lawrence Rare Coins], has been an active collector since childhood, but has only rekindled his passion over the last three years. In that small time span, he has acquired what is widely considered to be the Greatest All-Time Collection of U.S. Coins. He commented, “This was an opportunity to buy yet another famous rarity for the growing collection. As the final piece of the Barber Coinage puzzle, we have now completed the collection of Proof and Circulation Strike sets of Barber Dimes, Quarters, and Halves. I never imagined that this incredible hobby would bring such excitement and joy, but I’m truly ecstatic to be able to be the caretaker of this famous piece of American History and to add it to the collection.”
That’s giving your 10 cents worth. Wow. Off to check my piggy bank…
I assume that the ‘s’ at the bottom of the obverse is why it has its name, but does it refer to the San Francisco mint?
The vegetation is especially beautiful.
♫ Little maple-leafs riding on the money ♫
But they may be hops.
The “s” at the bottom means it was stuck in San Francisco. It’s name (Barber dime) comes from who designed it (Charles E. Barber).
More likely ivy than maple leaves. Ivy symbolizes fidelity. The oak leaves strength. Each plant has meaning though I could not tell you every one. There is corn and wheat there too.
Here
https://iccoin.com/u-s-1892-1916-liberty-head-silver-dime-set-of-5-different-good/
I read that it is cotton…which has leaves that resemble those…”…corn, cotton, tobacco and wheat on its reverse, paying homage to when America was still predominately an agricultural nation.”
I guess above the cotton is tobacco…
I have a 1918 dime,how do I go about selling it
Go to eBay, search “1918 dime”, scroll to “Completed Listings”, find a similar dime, click on “Sell one like this”…wait for the money to roll in.
I stand corrected. Still what do the oak leaves represent? Most likely a combination of classical iconography and pro-American symbols.
I just happen to have a 1894 dime
What is this worth?
Im not sure of a mint mark though
They are white oak leaves, representing the lumber with which Grand Rapids was just about to make a shitload of really shoddy furniture…for the newly-able-to-afford-a-$13-dining-room-set…
Having just performed the recommended eBay maneuver, I see that your dime is worth anywhere between $5.50 and $500, with the accent on $5.50…..unless, of course you can find the “S”, which leads to “$”..
I have 2 dimes but they are sliver my father was An mp
Bargains are to be had buying sliver on eBay.
🙂 Very awesome