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Please help me: value of a holed 1896 S Dime

As a total newbee around US coins I need your help again.
Today I found a holed 1896 S Barber Dime in a collection of silver coins which I had brought for melt value. According to my catalogue it's considered to be a (semi-) key date.
Do you think it's still appealing to any collector, and if so, how would you price it?
Thank you in advance and best regards,
Göttinger


Comments

  • mr1931Smr1931S Posts: 6,252 ✭✭✭✭✭

    A curiousity, no more than a $5 coin in my opinion.

    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein

  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 24,374 ✭✭✭✭✭

    VF details, holed, environmental damage. While it is a better date Barber dime the problems are severe. There are a few collectors who buy holed coins but the environmental damage might cause them to pass on that one. The market for that coin would likely be very thin so I would personally value it at $5 or less. I would not be a buyer.

    All glory is fleeting.
  • VeepVeep Posts: 1,427 ✭✭✭✭

    Sell it at auction (eBay), then you’ll know the price.

    "Let me tell ya Bud, you can buy junk anytime!"
  • GreenstangGreenstang Posts: 1,167 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Certainly not something that I would buy, it is now a damaged coin.

  • GreenstangGreenstang Posts: 1,167 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Certainly not something that I would buy, it is now a damaged coin.

  • jonathanbjonathanb Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Veep said:
    Sell it at auction (eBay), then you’ll know the price.

    This is the best advice. I bet it would sell for more than the $5 suggested here, because you never know with eBay. But probably nowhere near $100, or even $50.

  • lkeneficlkenefic Posts: 8,160 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jonathanb said:

    @Veep said:
    Sell it at auction (eBay), then you’ll know the price.

    This is the best advice. I bet it would sell for more than the $5 suggested here, because you never know with eBay. But probably nowhere near $100, or even $50.

    Ebay will likely get the most "eyes" on your coin but even buyers on ebay are starting to become a bit more discriminating in their purchases. I'm mostly looking at early copper, so this might be an "apples to oranges" comparison (I don't collect Barber dimes), but obviously damaged coins just sit... regardless of whether or not they're considered a semi-key date. On the other hand, decent coins with minimal problems go fast... and super nice material can get bid up past Price Guide (for RAW coins).

    Best of luck, and let us know how the auction goes if you end up putting it on Ebay...

    Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;

    Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
  • Manifest_DestinyManifest_Destiny Posts: 6,896 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'd say it's comparable to this coin that sold for $20, but you never know, it could sell for $10 or it could sell for $30. A dealer would probably offer $5 as noted above.

  • Thank you for all your kind replies!
    If I decide to sell the coin, I will keep you updated about the result.
    But since I am in Europe, I suppose there isn't really a market for certain US coins, especially in low grades.
    I was just surprised to find this coin in a bulk of silver coins I got for melt value or even a bit below.
    I never was a fan of melting down historic coins and items, no matter how bad they might look.
    So I hope I'll find a collector who will appreciate the coin.

  • sellitstoresellitstore Posts: 2,923 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hard to sell for $5 but could you find another high grade circulated holed 1896S dime if you offered $50 or $500 besides by making one from an undamaged coin?

    Inexpensive but try to find another.

    Collector and dealer in obsolete currency. Always buying all obsolete bank notes and scrip.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,369 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It would be good a hole filler, if it were whole. :open_mouth:

  • davewesendavewesen Posts: 6,234 ✭✭✭✭✭

    if you listed it at $20, it would be a nice markup over melt +++

  • BikergeekBikergeek Posts: 428 ✭✭✭✭✭

    OP: I agree with eBaying it (assuming you aren't brand new to eBay - nobody wants to buy from a zero feedback seller). I think your coin is much more handsome than the one that sold for $20 on eBay, per @Manifest_Destiny post above. And there are folks who appreciate holed coins (as a bargain, or for jewelry; one person even collects capped bust dimes with holed coins exclusively).

    Personally, I'd take the risk and make it a No Reserve auction, with minimal and fair shipping, and see what happens. (Full disclosure; I sent a slabbed Roosevelt dime to an auction one time that was worth about $10 and someone got it for $3 - and with the seller's fees, I actually had to pay about 15c to the auction house. But that was a pretty cheap price for a story that I can tell on occasions such as this.

    PS: I tried to tag you, OP, but I don't know how to do a letter o with an umlaut on my U.S. keyboard, and the system doesn't find you with a regular "o"...

    New website: Groovycoins.com Capped Bust Half Dime registry set: Bikergeek CBHD LM Set

  • TiborTibor Posts: 3,576 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Göttinger

    @HoledandCreative This collector is a leading authority on coins
    like yours.

  • HoledandCreativeHoledandCreative Posts: 2,794 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have collected holed coins for a while. Thanks, @Tibor, but not an authority. As previously mentioned, eBay is your best bet. If it were mine, I would put it out there at $20 + $5 shipping. There are plenty of collectors that still want a key date dime. Good luck!

  • WoW. Why would anyone do that to a 1896S dime is beyond me. https://www.usacoinbook.com/coins/1409/dimes/barber/1896-S/

  • IkesTIkesT Posts: 3,215 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @mr1931S said:
    A curiousity, no more than a $5 coin in my opinion.

    That's harsche!

  • mr1931Smr1931S Posts: 6,252 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That's harsche!

    That's right. Bert and I call it like we see it. OP gets $5 offer for this piece? Take the money and run away from the hapless buyer fast as he can.

    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein

  • BarberianBarberian Posts: 3,631 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @HoledandCreative said:
    I have collected holed coins for a while. Thanks, @Tibor, but not an authority. As previously mentioned, eBay is your best bet. If it were mine, I would put it out there at $20 + $5 shipping. There are plenty of collectors that still want a key date dime. Good luck!

    My thinking on holed coins is that they are worth about 10% of the value of an unmolested coin. That seems to be the price holed coins settle at in $0.99 eBay auctions. $20 for this coin would be about 10% of its unmolested value, so that IF I were interested in the coin, I'd pay up to $20 for it.

    I'd love to hear your thinking on pricing holed coins. What discounts are you looking for and does it depend upon coin rarity or the series?

    3 rim nicks away from Good
  • mr1931Smr1931S Posts: 6,252 ✭✭✭✭✭

    A bright dip would probably do wonders for this piece. Might be a $20 piece if the black was gone from it, in other words. Lots of detail present. Not for me but to fill a hole for one obsessed with filling album holes, why not? I see this as an item for inclusion on a silver chain bracelet. I can see someone
    pqying $20, mqybe up to $29.95 for it, shined up a bit.Don't overdo the dip though.

    Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein

  • Manifest_DestinyManifest_Destiny Posts: 6,896 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @mr1931S said:
    That's harsche!

    That's right. Bert and I call it like we see it. OP gets $5 offer for this piece? Take the money and run away from the hapless buyer fast as he can.

  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,276 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 5, 2024 7:32PM

    Holed coin value lol? Start it at 99c in bay auction and there’s your answer.

    Beyond that - I think that’s a question for a problem coin dealer.

    Coins & Currency
  • Today I listed the coin on a local online sales platform here in Germany.
    It was brought by a German coin dealer for 18€ plush shipping, that's around 19.66 Dollars.

  • First I thought about listing it on ebay, but potentially having to ship it to a buyer in a non-EU-country seemed too complicated for me, dealing with customs, slow postal services in foreign countries and stuff like that.

  • ShaunBC5ShaunBC5 Posts: 1,729 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Sounds like the $20 crowd was pretty spot on.
    Nice profit over melt!

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