1894-S Barber dime, Does anyone know..
Julio
Posts: 2,501 ✭
How many are known to exsist. I believe 24 were struck. How many are documented? TIA. jws
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60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
"The 1894-S is one of America's true rarities, with 24 made and only nine specimens currently accounted for. This issue is rated R8 in mint state."
If the 1933 $20s were never intened for circulation and have been the subject of numerous confiscations over the last 60+ years, why has the government not moved in to recover the 1894-S Barber Dime? It would seem to me that these were never intended to be released but they are allowed to trade without concern of confiscation...........
A large number of the 24 is probably still in someone's hanks uncertified.
After all, the coin pretty much speaks for itself and is valuable in any grade.
JT
I collect all 20th century series except gold including those series that ended there.
Interesting read.
Agreed, there is no issue with the 1894-S, but if you ask the same question substituting "1913 Liberty Nickel" for "1894-S Barber Dime" you have a valid question.
<< <i>tOne of the theories behind the minting of the 24 1894's dimes is that they were minted to balance the books at the mint for that year. >>
That's total BS. The director of the SF mint wanted to create a rarity to give his friends and family. Otherwise, they would have entered the channels of commerce rather than being held back.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>I don't think the pop charts can be relied on to answer that.
A large number of the 24 is probably still in someone's hanks uncertified.
After all, the coin pretty much speaks for itself and is valuable in any grade.
JT >>
The answer of "9 accounted for" wasn't determined by the pop reports.
Of the 24 struck, 2 went to the Assay Commission, and the balance were apparently distributed from the San Francisco Mint.
Look for several back-issue articles in Coin World (by a couple of excellent researchers who names escape me at the moment), and Kevin Flynn’s book The 1894-S Dime A Mystery Unraveled.
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Kevin Flynn's book describes 9 examples including an ANACS G-4 sold by Bowers & Merena in 1989, and an NGC AG-3 sold by Laura Sperber in 1990.
That's as far as Kevin's book goes.
From a excerpt of the San Francisco Bulletin October 1895..
" However, when nearly all of the subsidiary coin bullion had been utilized,
we found on our hands a quantity that would coin to advantage only dimes,
and into dimes it was coined, making just 24." - San Francisco Mint Chief Clerk Robert Barnett
So in a nutshell they basically had a little stock leftover so they just coined them. I dont how true it is but thats what it says.
(Actually, accounts were balanced daily and the report sent to the Director. If there were a small quantity of unstruck silver blanks they would simply be rolled into the bullion statement for the day. If it was alloyed silver it's still bullion. If they could only punch and strike 24 dimes, what happened to the bullion account to balance the excess strip from which the blanks were punched? The 24 dimes do show in the daily accounts and they are correctly presented as struck coin.)
PS: When was the last time you saw a newspaper account involving numismatics that was accurate? As far as Farran Zerbe goes (he’s an early source for this story), he had his own agenda and truthfulness was not often among the items.
Either way, the 1894-S dime is one of the very great coins in numismatics. Without question. I personally rate the 1804 dollar, 1913 nickel and then the 1894-S dime in that order. However, the 1894-S dime is the only one of those three that was struck both legitimately and in the year of it's dating. It's the real deal, and every few years I am approached by someone who agrees and has the money to acquire it!
I sure would love to find one of the two known low grade examples. That would be equally exciting IMO.
-John
1894-S Dime Pedigree Report
What is now proved was once only imagined. - William Blake
Just a theory.
TD
This morning my friend comes over, asking for advise for a friend of his, (yes a friend-of-a-story).
It seems he has inherited a hoard of coins from a relative, who founded a bank in the northeast
area of the country (details are sketchy where). He want to cash them in, and wants to know
how best to go about it. I gave him generic advise: have a dealer sort thru the items, sell the bullion
and have any worthwhile items submitted for grading, to sell at a later date.
So he calls be back, one of the items is a 1894-S barber dime. His friend had googled it and realized
it's a valuable coin, after a sleepless night he went and got a SDB for safekeeping and peace of mind.
I hope it turns out to be a real specimen.
I just finished reading the threads on this site, very informative on a rarity which I was not aware of.
I did ask and was rebuffed to ogle the coins which I understand, since he doesn't know me.
I hope to eventually see the coin for my self.
Second, submit it to PCGS or NCG for authentication.
What happens next depends on #2.
Do not allow your friend's friend to clean, polish or otherwise try to improve the coin. That will only damage it.
<< <i>First, take it to a local coin dealer for an initial evaluation;
Second, submit it to PCGS or NCG for authentication.
What happens next depends on #2.
Do not allow your friend's friend to clean, polish or otherwise try to improve the coin. That will only damage it. >>
#1 - was part of my advise, the local B&M I recommended is an Authorized PCGS dealer.
I have no direct contact with the person, however, my understanding is that the coin is in a
coin flip, in an album binder page. The coin flip was removed from the album page, for closer
examination, without removing the coin from the flip. My friend said the coin looks perfect
(he's not a collector), he said he'll pass along the advise not to try and "improve" the coin.
I'm excited to hear about the results.
Here's the last coin needed for my collection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
It is THE coin I would sell my entire collection and then some to get. Some people would want a 1913 Liberty Nickel - not me. Others would want a 1804 Dollar - not me. I won't take all the 1933 $20's over one 1894-S Barber Dime. I will never be able to afford one though - thus it is my dream coin. If the ice cream specimen was offered, I wonder how much that would go for today. Think I could get it for $50,000?
There was an article about their findings regarding this issue in Coin World a few years ago.
Even though some of these have been labeled as Branch Mint Proofs, the reflective surface, well struck coins that still exist are merely first strike regular production pieces. There will never be any documentation to validate, coming from any branch mint of the United States, that they intentionally created any proof coinage.
TD