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David Lawrence has an 1894-S dime.
MastaHanky
Posts: 933 ✭
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MastaHanky
Posts: 933 ✭
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Only $750k.
Stman
Stman
lemme ask this question though. if david lawrence was able to afford coins of that caliber, it'd take a lot of profit, right? so how good of deals are you getting when you buy from them? just a thought....
K S
The nice thing about coins like this are it doesn't matter what holder it's in! People actually look at the coin and evaluate its quality (which is high in this case!).
Anyway, one night at dinner at the ANA seminar, there was a younger guy at the table and I asked him where he was from. He named one of the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh (no one who wasn't from Pittsburgh would have recognized the name). I was taken aback at the coincidence that I would be one of the handful of people at the ANA who might have understood his answer.
We got to talking and it turned out his father was a long-time dealer in Pittsburgh who had died the previous year and the son (19, I believe!) was trying to take over the business, which was why he was at the seminar. Turns out his father's prize possession was.... an 1894-S Barber dime! And now the kid owns one. He didn't recall the year/mint, but he knew the one he had was the Barber dime that only had a few existing examples. Gutsy kid, actually, trying to learn so fast while being so young.
New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.
Stman
I saw a patch of minor hairlines on the reverse and the planchet flaw on the obverse. Take away the planchet flaw and it's a shot 66 coin. With the way grading is these days, I'd never say a coin's a lock!
I bet he's making a nice profit, but not a hefty one. I'm guessing $10,000-$20,000 profit off of it, which is not that much at all (1.5 - 2.0%ish). I could be wrong, as I'm not as familiar with the sales of coins of this high caliber.
Also, when you start to approach the prices these coins are demanding, I don't think you worry as much about how much profit the dealer is taking. A coin like this doesn't come around too often...you have to hop on it while you can.
If I am not correct that young man also owns a Rolls, also from his fathers estate! Very nice guy; anxious to learn!..
jom
Regardless of which one, it is a fascinating coin. It is said that no record of these coins exist, but I have a Mint Report that shows $2.40 in dimes struck in San Francisco in 1894. I wonder when they were finally added these to the mint reports?
I wonder if any of them will ever turn up again...if they're hiding in somebody's collection, if they'll be found metal-detecting, if they were melted, or if they're sitting in basal-state form in some dealer's junk silver pile.
The coin in question is a no doubt proof. I had often wondered if they were merely prooflike due to being so few struck off of fresh dies. Now I know.
It states that on the reverse of the card. I have read that same statement numerous times. It is also said that no one knew of them until around 1900.
I have a an old brochure of Parrino selling the 1894-S dime and will check it again as to what he said.
I remember him discussing the 24 dimes minted so the above seems contradictory.
I will followup.
By the way, I have an older Parrino almost business sized card with the 1913 nickel embossed on it in silver color. Is this now a collectors item?
Daggett/Lawrence 1894-S Dime Press Release
* * * * *
The Proof-66 1894-S Dime ex:Stack/Parrino
To clear matters up a little, we purchased the Parrino specimen of the 1894-S dime (NGC Pr66 that has been referred to here). I purchased it on behalf of a client for $825,000 in December 1998. The coin is present on both NGC and PCGS pop reports as the sole 66. It's also known as the James Stack specimen. Very cool story actually. When Eliasberg bought the J.M. Clapp collection in 1942, he (Eliasberg) already had an 1894-S dime. In 1947, he auctioned off one of the two in a Stack's Sale where it was obtained by famous collection, James Stack (no relation). Click here for a press release of our sale of that coin in 1998. The coin Eliasberg kept actually graded NGC Proof 65 after it was auctioned in 1996.
Our coin...
Is indeed the ex-Spectrum coin which was graded PCGS Proof 64 back in 1992. I've been trying off and on to acquire this coin since 1998 and was really fortunate to do so. I've seen the Eliasberg coin (which I am told is now dipped white) and this specimen is by far the prettiest of all the high grade coins. As the consesnus on this thread seems to agree, grade is almost irrelevent. It's a gem proof 1894-S dime with wonderful color. After this one gets put away, it may be many moons before another becomes available.
* * * *
Sincerely,
John Feigenbaum, President
David Lawrence Rare Coins
www.davidlawrence.com
1-800-776-0560
email: john@davidlawrence.com
* * * *
Sincerely,
John Feigenbaum, President
David Lawrence Rare Coins
www.davidlawrence.com
1-800-776-0560
email: john@davidlawrence.com
<< <i>I bet he's making a nice profit, but not a hefty one. I'm guessing $10,000-$20,000 profit off of it, which is not that much at all (1.5 - 2.0%ish). I could be wrong, as I'm not as familiar with the sales of coins of this high caliber.
. >>
Masta,
How do you know what David Lawence's profit margin on this coin is? I do not presume to know in this instance, but I doubt it is as low as 2.0%. When Jay Parrino ("The Mint") offered his coins at very high prices via a fixed price list, they would typically actually sell for a fraction of those asking prices when sold at public auction. Non-verifiable sales should always be taken with a grain of salt.
It is a beautiful coin.
Rays
I don't actually know, I'm just throwing out what I think is a ballpark figure. I do know that the items that we retail in our store (which are totally unrelated to coins), the higher-priced items have a much smaller profit margin (percentage-wise) than the cheaper items. But like I said, I'm just taking a stab at it, and I could be way off because I'm not as familiar with sales of this high of a caliber.
Jay Parrino "the Mint" described his 1894-S dime in his 1996/1997 brochure as:
"1894-S 10c PR-66..........The Finest Known example of the Legendary Classic. One of the all-time great American rarities of 24 struck, only nine are known today. Both sides are superbly toned in deep, somewhat mottled rose, steel blue, and violet. The obverse and reverse designs are sharply struck and extremely bold, while the surrounding fields are fully reflective and mirror-like."