1875-S twenty cent pieces...

Blackhawk

...Are any of the RPM varieties worth a premium?

STONE

very little premium, if any (often not), for the "S" mintmark, unless of course it's a Top Pop or something.

I don't know of any RPM's for the "CC" issues, but I'm sure I'm wrong.

COALPORTER

There is the S over Horizotal S variety, but I don't know about the value or rarity level.

Blackhawk

I found one like it in some on-line auction literature. It is a horizantal RPM, and the obverse has a misplaced 5 in the deticles below the 7 of the date, which I didn't notice before. Only a low VF, but kinda neat because of the stuff going on.

Walkerguy21D

I think I've owned/seen more of the S/S variety than the plain S variety, but I'm only talking about a handful of coins, and I'm no specialist. I just don't think it is very scarce based on my experience.

itsnotjustme

Not sure... here is mine!

astrorat

Great topic!

There are actually three RPMs on the 1875-S coins. There are no RPMs with the CC coins from either 1875 or 1876.

1. A "clear S/S" RPM
2. A "filled S/S" RPM
3. A "dramatic S/S" RPM (aka the "$" mintmark)

There is no "S over horizontal S" in this series. Perhaps the "$" is being mistaken for an "S over horizontal S" RPM.

Regarding premiums...only the "$" mintmark is worth a modest (10%) premium but usually it can be cherrypicked with ease. Since only a few of us actually care about these varieties, rarely do dealers charge a premium for this RPM. Although there was one prominent dealer who was charging a 50% premium at one time a few years ago.

Ironically, of the RPMs, the "$" is twice as common as the other two but the "$" minmark is the only one that is generally considered collectible.

Here are some images of the RPMs

Clear S/S RPM
This one is somewhat difficult to photograph and is best seen on VF and better coins with 14x magnification. A small doubling can be seen on the upper serif. Sorry for the gigantic image, but it was the best example I could find.



Filled S/S RPM
This RPM is a bit easier to see with 10x and lower magnification. The upper serif is easily seen as doubled. The doubling of lower serif is somewhat more difficult to see.



Dramatic S/S RPM (aka "$" mintmark)
This RPM is the easiest to see and can usually be spotted without magnification.

shirohniichan

Breen says the "clear S" variety is scarce, but I have seen a number of them. Perhaps they are scarcer than filled S varieties. I doubt anyone would charge a premium for a clear S, but you never know.

is no "S over horizontal S" in this series. Perhaps the "$" is being mistaken for an "S over horizontal S" RPM.

Thanks for the clarification. That explains why I've never seen an example or photo of that mythical variety (i.e. S over a truly horizontal S).

astrorat

Regarding rarity of the mintmarks...

A few years ago I did a study of an accumulation of 195 1875-S double dimes looking for mintmark types and found the following:

Clear S - 129 pieces (66.2%)
Clear S/S - 17 pieces (8.7%)
Filled S/S - 14 pieces (7.2%)
“$ Variety” - 35 pieces (17.9%)

This study was published in Errorscope a number of years ago (I don't have the citation handy at the moment).

Lane

Edited to add: The Errorscope issue was Vol 12, No 3 May/June 2003. The article is on pages 5-7.

Mesquite

I believe this is a RPM. The $ variety. I have no clue if it carries a premium - my guess is, not much of one.

astrorat

<< <i>I believe this is a RPM. The $ variety. I have no clue if it carries a premium - my guess is, not much of one. >>



Yep, that's the "$" variety. You will also notice that it is paired with the obverse die that has a 5 in the denticles below the 7. Thus far, I have only seen the "$" variety paired with this obverse die.

Regarding a premium...while the variety is scarce as compared with a clear, non-RPM mintmark, it usually does not command a premium as there is not much collector interest and the variety is easy to cherrypick.

Lane

Mesquite

I see that 5 in the denticles below the 7 - I had notnoticed it. Cool!

Blackhawk

By horizantal, I meant a horizantal shift to the mint mark...I guess that i should have been more specific. The coin that I have is the same as the other $ variety examples posted.

RBinTex

Yes. But some more than others. This is one of the most popular ones (with the misplaced 8 in the denticles below the "7" as well as the S/S "$" version):

seanq

Great coins all. I'm really starting to like these; when I look at a 20-cent reverse next to a quarter from the same era, the contrasting eagle designs remind me of what a step-child denomination this was.

A couple of months ago I saw listed on eBay a double dime with a strong misplaced 8 poking out of the denticles. I do not recall if the obverse was paired with one of the RPM reverses. The coin was pulled from auction before I had a chance to bid, and I have not seen another example since. Does anyone have pics of that variety to add to this thread?


Sean Reynolds

shirohniichan

A couple of months ago I saw listed on eBay a double dime with a strong misplaced 8 poking out of the denticles. I do not recall if the obverse was paired with one of the RPM reverses. The coin was pulled from auction before I had a chance to bid, and I have not seen another example since. Does anyone have pics of that variety to add to this thread?

Nope, but I'd be equally interested in seeing it!

astrorat

Hi Sean-

I missed your post, sorry. So here is an example of an 1875-S twenty-cent piece with an 8 in the denticles (just below the 8 in the date and to the left).



It's one of the MPDs that you don't need a loop to see. In my estimation it is "scarce" but not rare.

Lane

astrorat

<< <i>very little premium, if any (often not), for the "S" mintmark, unless of course it's a Top Pop or something.

I don't know of any RPM's for the "CC" issues, but I'm sure I'm wrong. >>



No Winston, you are correct. There are no known RPMs for the CC coins.

Lane