Walter Breen
*1894 S Dime. [24] The most mysterious of all San Francisco coinages. Conceivably an occasion for mintage of proofs of any denomination existed in the golden jubilee of regular coinage operations; yet no quarters, halves, dollars, or gold proofs are reported. The story of the dime mintage is extremely fragmentary. Dr. Heath, in NUM 6/1900, alluded to J.C. Michelson of Kansas City (presumably the one who left his collection to the Connecticut State Library) as having "uncovered an 1894 S dime," and as quoting unnamed "mint authorities" as saying that "while 24 were originally struck, only 14 went into circulation, the remaining 10 being restruck" (apparently meaning recoined!). What noboby realized until recently is that all were made as proofs.
In COIN WORLD, 6/27/1973, James Johnson (Collectors' Clearinghouse) gave a quite different story, to the effect that in 1894 a banker friend, learning that no dimes were to be struck, asked Mr. Daggett (the Superintendent) to make some special strikings for a group of their friends. Of the 24 struck (reported as of June 30), each of eight persons received three, including Mr. Daggett. Daggett gave his three to his daughter Hallie, telling her to put them away until she was as old as he was, at which time she would be able to sell them for a good price. On the way home, little Hallie spent one for a dish of ice cream, but put the other two away until 1954 when she sold them to Earl Parker. Johnson was unable to learn the identities of the other friends who received these dimes.
The following is the most nearly complete roster attempted, but it is far from exhaustive. All are in proof state unless otherwise noted.
1. Waldo Newcomer, F.C.C. Boyd, WGC:756, Neil:1433, B. Max Mehl, Hydeman:387, $13,000, Empire Coin Co., "Century": 724, $12,250, Paramount, Leo A. Young.
2. John H. Clapp, Eliasberg.
3.John H. Clapp, Eliasberg, "H.R.Lee" :348, S, N.Y. pvt. coll.
4. S, James Aloysius Stack estate.
5.Mintmaster Daggett, Hallie Daggett, Earl Parker (1954), Dan Brown, S, a Chicago pvt. coll.
6. Mintmaster Daggett, Hallie Daggett, Earl Parker (1954), W.R. Johnson, Abner Kreisberg, World-Wide Investments, lately offered by Bowers at $97,500.
7. C.A. Cass, "Empire" :881, Bowers, Norweb. Maple leaf below D weak, flat.
8. J.C. Michelson, Conn. State Library, Hartford.Unverified.
9. Rappaport, Kagin, Reuter, Kreisberg, Bowers, "eastern pvt. coll." Unseen.
10. Kagin "Sale of 70s": 1114, $52,000, EF, rev. scratch. Unverified.
11. Friedberg (bought over the counter, allegedly found in circulation, 1957), Kagin, NN 51 :581, Kagin, HR 11/69, midwest call. Good.
12. Romito, Montesano, consigned twice to S in 1942 but withdrawn for "personal reasons"); worn, circular obv. cut. Unverified.
Earl Parker had another one, offered in the Guggenheimer sale in 1953; doubted as mintmark is oddly shaped and obscured by some kind of defect, dies entirely different from any of foregoing.
All genuine specimens show a very minute rectangular die defect on base of E of DIME, just beyond upright and a little left of center of base' mintmark is upright, bold, slightly above center of space between border and knot, noticeably to right of center of space between ribbons.
Though supposedly only one pair of dies was furnished for dime coinage, there are apparently two obverse dies! That found on nos. 1, 2, 3 above has left tip of serif of 1 nearly in line with back of neck (hold coins so the neckline is upright), 4 away from truncation, strong serifs to base of 4, left base of 1 close to r. of center of dentil.
That found on nos. 6, 7 and 11 has left tip of serif well to right of neckline, top of 4 almost touching truncation, base of 4 weak with thin indefinite serifs left base of 1 well above a point a little r. of center of dentil.
1895 S Dollar. (1) "Dupont" :2605. (2) Amon Carter' Sr. estate, not verified. (3) Midwest collection, verified.
1899 S Half Eagle. (1) Dr. Green:473. (2) Ronnie Carr, extracted from an 1899 gold proof set from the Col. Green collection, which set had no Philadelphia half eagle -previous owners had never noticed the S! Frosty devices, similar to Philadelphia proofs.
1921 S Dollar. Morgan design [24?] Recutting on top of left serif of both l's (plainer on first); faint scattered rev. striations, plainest at TED, AME and nearest parts of wings. Wayte Raymond told me in 1951 that Farran Zerbe had those coins made at San Francisco to go with the Philadelphia proofs from the first dollar dies received at the mint. (1) Seen at 1975 ANA Convention, later Hirt:1269, illustrated in that catalogue. I have not yet had the opportunity to check the ANS or Chase Bank specimens.
CARSON CITY MINT
1870 CC Dollar. Dietrich-Morgan:134 (Woodward, 4/19-21/82), "extremely rare," untraced but undoubted. Several of the better looking survivors of this issue have brilliant prooflike surfaces but enough rubbing to obscure their original status - unlike the mint state specimens seen to date. Were those given out as souvenirs of the first dollar coinage from this mint, Feb. 10, 1870, later spent?
1871 CC Half Dollar. Both specimens are "one-sided" - perfect proof obv., frosty unc. rev. with proof striking quality. (1) Maurice Bauman: 176, "Groves":442, $3,750. (2) Reed Hawn, $4,000.
1883 CC Dollar. Amon Carter Sr. estate, not verified.
1884 CC Dollar. Kagin. I authenticated it many years ago. Cf. Brock, U. of Pa., Rovensky:125.
1892 CC Dollar. Col. E.H.R.Green, Jack Roe, B. Max Mehl, R.T. McPherson: 1457, unverified.