Huge payout expected for a rare coin bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades
CTV
Three sisters from Ohio who inherited a dime kept in a bank vault for more than 40 years knew it had some value. But they had no idea just how much until just a few years ago.
Three sisters from Ohio who inherited a dime kept in a bank vault for more than 40 years knew it had some value. But they had no idea just how much until just a few years ago.
The extraordinarily rare coin, struck by the U.S. Mint in San Francisco in 1975, could bring more than US$500,000, said Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, which specializes in currency and is handling an online auction that will end in October.
What makes the dime depicting President Franklin D. Roosevelt so valuable is a missing “S” mint mark for San Francisco, one of just two without the mark known to exist. The other one sold at a 2019 auction for US$456,000 and then again months later to a private collector.
While serious coin collectors have long known about the existence of these two rare dimes, their whereabouts had remained a mystery since the late 1970s.
“They were hidden for decades.” Russell said. “Most major collectors and dealers have never seen one.”
The mint in San Francisco made more than 2.8 million special uncirculated “proof” sets in 1975 that featured six coins and were sold for US$7. Collectors a few years later discovered that two dimes from the set were missing the mint mark.
The sisters from Ohio who inherited one of those two dimes after the recent death of brother want to remain anonymous given their sudden windfall, Russell said.
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