A seemingly impossible feat, a dime, or a ten-cent coin, was sold online recently for $506,250, just some time ago, on October 27. This tiny piece of metal, with a nominal value of just ten cents, is now worth about five million times that amount, becoming a true treasure for collectors. Born from a mistake during minting in 1975 by the United States Mint in San Francisco, California, what makes the coin utterly unique is that it is actually a dime. From an initial glance, it looks like any ordinary dime, with the image of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on it, except for the absence of the normal “S” mint mark, indicating it was produced at the San Francisco Mint. There are only two examples known to exist in the world with that feature, making it so desired all over.
Why is the “S” missing?
For those uninitiated in the usage of U.S. coinage, every coin has an engraved letter designating the mint at which it was minted: “D” for Denver, “P” for Philadelphia, “S” for San Francisco, and “W” for West Point. This coin realized omission error during minting of the special proof set intended for collectors. In 1975, the Mint issued more than 2.8 million sets of six proof coins at $7 per set. Two of these dimes minted in these sets were without the “S” mint mark, and this became a unique case in numismatic history.
This particular coin was inherited by three sisters of Ohio after their brother passed away, who had kept it in a bank vault for over 40 years. As stated by the sisters, the coin was bought by their family in 1978 for $18,200, which would roughly come to around $90,000 in today’s money. This tiny coin not only was a collector’s item but also served as their rainy-day fund in their mind.
Not the first time a coin like this has broken records
In 2019, the only other known example of this type was sold at auction for $456,000. Shortly afterward, it was purchased yet again by a private collector. This immense price marked the level of fascination that these rarities inspire in the collectors’ market.
As said by Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, you can only hope to find coins like these by looking into 1975 proof sets still with a collector or sitting in a forgotten collection somewhere. However, the chances of finding another such example seem very bleak, further adding to its mystery and value.
This tale reminds us that small details can sometimes make or break an opportunity, with a simple 10-cent coin now becoming a stalwart case of how errors could lead to great windfalls—perhaps due to the historical background involved and a little element of curiosity.
