Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Either that, or it has a "C" on the reverse for "China."
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Yeah, very fake, the 1894-S was not struck as a proof, it was struck for circulation, 6 die pairs sent, 24 coins struck, 5 were submitted for assay. When I wrote my 1894-S dime book around 2006, there were 9 known at that time. Another showed up in a Bowers auction that make 10
There are several diagnostics that I show on page 87 of my book
1. On the O of OF, the top of the O is broken.
2. On the bottom right of the T of UNITED is broken
3. Doubled die reverse seen on the lower left and right leaves and branches.
4. The S mintmark is broken on the left side.
I also show the date and mint mark relative positions
I don't count any news source as legitimate until I see it corroborated. No images of the coin, no identity of the buyer/authenticator, no corresponding source in a numismatic publication? For a supposed newly identified example of an 1894-S dime that is "original, brilliant, uncirculated and in mint condition", this story is shockingly vague, especially given that this owner supposedly went public with this coin himself on online forums, and there has been no mention of it anywhere else.
@kevinj said:
Yeah, very fake, the 1894-S was not struck as a proof, it was struck for circulation, 6 die pairs sent, 24 coins struck, 5 were submitted for assay. When I wrote my 1894-S dime book around 2006, there were 9 known at that time. Another showed up in a Bowers auction that make 10
There are several diagnostics that I show on page 87 of my book
1. On the O of OF, the top of the O is broken.
2. On the bottom right of the T of UNITED is broken
3. Doubled die reverse seen on the lower left and right leaves and branches.
4. The S mintmark is broken on the left side.
I also show the date and mint mark relative positions
@kevinj said:
Yeah, very fake, the 1894-S was not struck as a proof, it was struck for circulation, 6 die pairs sent, 24 coins struck, 5 were submitted for assay. When I wrote my 1894-S dime book around 2006, there were 9 known at that time. Another showed up in a Bowers auction that make 10
There are several diagnostics that I show on page 87 of my book
1. On the O of OF, the top of the O is broken.
2. On the bottom right of the T of UNITED is broken
3. Doubled die reverse seen on the lower left and right leaves and branches.
4. The S mintmark is broken on the left side.
I also show the date and mint mark relative positions
Kevin
Kevin,
Why do pcgs and ngc both call it a proof?
Because in 1945, in an auction, it was first called a proof, more than likely believing it would bring more money.
Since, up to a few years ago, they were called proofs.
Now, I believe John Davenreuther, PCGS, and NGC will all call these "Specimen"
Many times during the course of our numismatic history, things were incorrectly classified/attributed, and
others simply followed suit rather than dive further into.
I emailed the author of the article prior to posting here. He never responded but I'm glad to hear he has pulled the article. Really a shame that a newspaper would publish such nonsense without doing the least amount of fact checking. In this case the most glaring part of the article was that the seller sold the coin for $2.4 million "in cash." C'mon now. That doesn't raise any suspicion at all???
John Feigenbaum Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com) PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
You're ignoring a critical alternative fact or three, but the story did eventually challenge my credulity.
The tuna fisherman's grandpa's amended story about the coin being part of the Saddle Ridge Hoard was my second clue something fishy might be going on.
Maybe turn it into a movie on the order of the Coen Brothers "A Simple Plan".
Still thinking it was a scholarship-worthy YN
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - Geo. Orwell
The Rapid City Journal's Facebook post about the story is still there even though the story is gone.
The comments are interesting about how the guy deserves the good fortune of that coin. Also of interest is the person who asked "What's so rare about it I have 3 of them". They seem certain that they actually do. Just like people at shows or flea markets who swore they had a non-existent coin at home, such as a 1920 silver dollar, and no one could convince them otherwise. But they never show up with the coin.
There is really nothing conclusive that would tell the public that the story is fishy. I have noticed this a lot in other media stories out of my knowledge area where someone in the know would point out some significant flaws. Makes one doubt much in the media until proven otherwise.
Wonder how this story formed and got published. Seems the author didn't do any verification. Must have been fun for the hoaxer to see how easy it was.
Reminds me of seeing a report on the PBS Nightly Business Report back in 1991 where the anchor announced the story going around that Russia was selling the body of Vladimir Lenin for much needed cash at $15 Million. The next day, after the hoax was exposed, he was extremely angry at the hoaxer. Yet there was not one bit of criticism for the media, including himself, who did not make even the slightest effort to verify it before reporting.
Rapid City Journal's Facebook post about the story
JohnF: emailed the author of the article prior to posting here. He never responded but I'm glad to hear he has pulled the article. Really a shame that a newspaper would publish such nonsense without doing the least amount of fact checking. In this case the most glaring part of the article was that the seller sold the coin for $2.4 million "in cash." C'mon now. That doesn't raise any suspicion at all???
Oh I don't know. Cash will be the way I go when I win the Powerball and set out to own all of the 1894-S dimes extant. $1M in Benjamins finder award for each specimen located that leads to sale to me will fit into a standard size briefcase and weighs only 22 lbs.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
I am surprised at this story in the Rapid City Daily Journal.......I grew up in Rapid City. Perhaps they have been acquired by the National Enquirer........?
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
They do deserve credit for listening and following up.
One problem in this article is it says "However, the coin in the photo that accompanied the article was not purported to be the actual dime that was sold". As I recall, the caption did claim exactly that.
Another interesting quote: "Repeated attempts by the Journal to contact the Black Hills man — who told the newspaper he signed a confidentiality agreement with the buyer of the coin — for comment and further substantiation of his claims were unsuccessful."
So the seller signed a confidentiality agreement and then went running to the media to tell everyone about it? That makes me just a little hesitant to bring him my future suit cases full of cash like the "buyer" of the "dime" did. No cash for you!
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
My input, I actually worked with the person that sold the coin, and I'm the one that took the photo of him holding it, I'm no coin expert, I just know what he told me about selling it, and then the next day he quit his job, as far as I'm concerned he was an honest person, and I had no reason to believe otherwise.
Comments
What an amazing discovery!!
LOL!
Sunshine Rare Coins
sunshinecoins.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Cameo too...
Right.
POST NUBILA PHOEBUS / AFTER CLOUDS, SUN
Love for Music / Collector of Dreck
Something way, way off here.
Fake news...?
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
Either that, or it has a "C" on the reverse for "China."
"People need to trust what they see on the Internet." - Abraham Lincoln
Fake, fake, fake, fake, fake..............................Elaine Benez
I quit reading at the "wrapped in plastic" part. what a hoot.
Very clever and funny....
CC
Yeah, very fake, the 1894-S was not struck as a proof, it was struck for circulation, 6 die pairs sent, 24 coins struck, 5 were submitted for assay. When I wrote my 1894-S dime book around 2006, there were 9 known at that time. Another showed up in a Bowers auction that make 10
There are several diagnostics that I show on page 87 of my book
1. On the O of OF, the top of the O is broken.
2. On the bottom right of the T of UNITED is broken
3. Doubled die reverse seen on the lower left and right leaves and branches.
4. The S mintmark is broken on the left side.
I also show the date and mint mark relative positions
Kevin
They may just be showing a representation, not the actual coin. The actual coin would be in the possession of the buyer.
It is a legitimate news source. The picture is labelled "courtesy photo".
Geez, what an age we live in.
I don't count any news source as legitimate until I see it corroborated. No images of the coin, no identity of the buyer/authenticator, no corresponding source in a numismatic publication? For a supposed newly identified example of an 1894-S dime that is "original, brilliant, uncirculated and in mint condition", this story is shockingly vague, especially given that this owner supposedly went public with this coin himself on online forums, and there has been no mention of it anywhere else.
I'll take two of them.
eBay ID-bruceshort978
Successful BST:here and ATS, bumanchu, wdrob, hashtag, KeeNoooo, mikej61, Yonico, Meltdown, BAJJERFAN, Excaliber, lordmarcovan, cucamongacoin, robkool, bradyc, tonedcointrader, mumu, Windycity, astrotrain, tizofthe, overdate, rwyarmch, mkman123, Timbuk3,GBurger717, airplanenut, coinkid855 ,illini420, michaeldixon, Weiss, Morpheus, Deepcoin, Collectorcoins, AUandAG, D.Schwager.
For two million bucks , I hope his wife rubs more than just his feet.
yikes, I should have bid more for this one
ebay.com/itm/barber-s-1894-one-dime-coin-/322644163269?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=IkOjk8MkLPSUq2nd9fdjToQp6do%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Article refers to listing the coin on "a reputable private website favored by serious numismatists." Huh??
I have one in my 7070 of replicas.
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
I think I saw this story on CNN
After reading that, I think I can write a Country Hit Song, however I may need to add a Dog
Steve
dumb, doesn't anyone check these stories before they post them [the so called newspaper that is, and CNN if that is true].
BHNC #203
Jas. A. Stack would be proud. Very proud.
Remarkable what a dedicated numismatist can find when there's nothing good on the Hokies' online intramural softball channel
Didnt Legend have the eliasberg pcgs pr66 cac for sale for just over $2mm and it took awhile to sell?
I guess this specimen is the finest known by a longshot
Kevin,
Why do pcgs and ngc both call it a proof?
Now designated Branch Mint Specimen by PCGS.
Well... either someone hit the proverbial numismatic jackpot, or the Rapid City Journal is competing with the Onion.....
.......Cheers, RickO
Because in 1945, in an auction, it was first called a proof, more than likely believing it would bring more money.
Since, up to a few years ago, they were called proofs.
Now, I believe John Davenreuther, PCGS, and NGC will all call these "Specimen"
Many times during the course of our numismatic history, things were incorrectly classified/attributed, and
others simply followed suit rather than dive further into.
Kevin
It sure is a great story and well written. Had 5 wives and lives in a trailer??
Well, you are in luck. The holder DOES say dimeS after all, so there must be at least two in there!
They took the story down.
Latest I heard was the reporter's 12-year-old is a YN who got ahold of Dad's home-office password.
Or the 94-S is a "macguffin" and he was hacked by Carl Hiaasen.
~~Is @JohnF a Hiaasen reader?~~
I emailed the author of the article prior to posting here. He never responded but I'm glad to hear he has pulled the article. Really a shame that a newspaper would publish such nonsense without doing the least amount of fact checking. In this case the most glaring part of the article was that the seller sold the coin for $2.4 million "in cash." C'mon now. That doesn't raise any suspicion at all???
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
You're ignoring a critical alternative fact or three, but the story did eventually challenge my credulity.
The tuna fisherman's grandpa's amended story about the coin being part of the Saddle Ridge Hoard was my second clue something fishy might be going on.
Maybe turn it into a movie on the order of the Coen Brothers "A Simple Plan".
Still thinking it was a scholarship-worthy YN
It was fun while it lasted.
Come on Bill, everyone knows the "S" mintmark on this one is foe Shanghai!
Were you sleeping during counterfeit coin seminar 101?
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
The Rapid City Journal's Facebook post about the story is still there even though the story is gone.
The comments are interesting about how the guy deserves the good fortune of that coin. Also of interest is the person who asked "What's so rare about it I have 3 of them". They seem certain that they actually do. Just like people at shows or flea markets who swore they had a non-existent coin at home, such as a 1920 silver dollar, and no one could convince them otherwise. But they never show up with the coin.
There is really nothing conclusive that would tell the public that the story is fishy. I have noticed this a lot in other media stories out of my knowledge area where someone in the know would point out some significant flaws. Makes one doubt much in the media until proven otherwise.
Wonder how this story formed and got published. Seems the author didn't do any verification. Must have been fun for the hoaxer to see how easy it was.
Reminds me of seeing a report on the PBS Nightly Business Report back in 1991 where the anchor announced the story going around that Russia was selling the body of Vladimir Lenin for much needed cash at $15 Million. The next day, after the hoax was exposed, he was extremely angry at the hoaxer. Yet there was not one bit of criticism for the media, including himself, who did not make even the slightest effort to verify it before reporting.
Rapid City Journal's Facebook post about the story
https://facebook.com/RCJournal/posts/10155877643984252
Russia Sells Lenin’s Body
hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/russia_sells_lenins_body
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
JohnF: emailed the author of the article prior to posting here. He never responded but I'm glad to hear he has pulled the article. Really a shame that a newspaper would publish such nonsense without doing the least amount of fact checking. In this case the most glaring part of the article was that the seller sold the coin for $2.4 million "in cash." C'mon now. That doesn't raise any suspicion at all???
Oh I don't know. Cash will be the way I go when I win the Powerball and set out to own all of the 1894-S dimes extant. $1M in Benjamins finder award for each specimen located that leads to sale to me will fit into a standard size briefcase and weighs only 22 lbs.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.-Albert Einstein
I am surprised at this story in the Rapid City Daily Journal.......I grew up in Rapid City. Perhaps they have been acquired by the National Enquirer........?
OINK
that's a peach
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Maybe the story was pulled at request of the seller due to worries the IRS would see it and start looking at that huge CASH transaction!
Looks like it was a fake story.... Even Rapid City Daily Journal is guilty of 'fake news'...
Must be an affiliate of CNN..... 
Cheers, RickO
They do deserve credit for listening and following up.
One problem in this article is it says "However, the coin in the photo that accompanied the article was not purported to be the actual dime that was sold". As I recall, the caption did claim exactly that.
Another interesting quote: "Repeated attempts by the Journal to contact the Black Hills man — who told the newspaper he signed a confidentiality agreement with the buyer of the coin — for comment and further substantiation of his claims were unsuccessful."
So the seller signed a confidentiality agreement and then went running to the media to tell everyone about it? That makes me just a little hesitant to bring him my future suit cases full of cash like the "buyer" of the "dime" did. No cash for you!
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
My input, I actually worked with the person that sold the coin, and I'm the one that took the photo of him holding it, I'm no coin expert, I just know what he told me about selling it, and then the next day he quit his job, as far as I'm concerned he was an honest person, and I had no reason to believe otherwise.
Thanks Funnybonz