Rare 1975 Dime Sells for $506,250 in Online Auction

A very rare dime recently fetched an astounding $506,250 in an online auction, making it worth five million times its original value of 10 cents. The coin, minted in 1975 by the US Mint in San Francisco, features President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and is one of only two known coins that lack the distinctive “S” mark indicating it was struck at the San Francisco Mint.

In 1975, the US Mint produced over 2.8 million special uncirculated “proof” sets of six coins that were sold for $7 each. Over the years, collectors discovered that two of the dimes were missing the mint marking. The only other known example of a “no S” proof dime from 1975 was sold at an auction in 2019 for $456,000.

The recently sold dime was part of an inheritance from three anonymous sisters in Ohio, who received it when their brother passed away. He had stored the dime in a bank vault for over 40 years. The sisters revealed that their parents had purchased the first error coin in 1978 for $18,200, which is equivalent to about $90,000 today. The rare coin was seen as a financial safety net by their parents.

Unique Mint Markings

Determining the origin of a coin in the United States is relatively easy as there is a small capital letter on the heads side of the coin indicating where it was minted. The letters include D for Denver, P for Philadelphia, S for San Francisco, and W for West Point.

While there may be more examples of this rare type of dime, they would only be found in the 1975 proof sets and not in regular circulation, according to experts.

The sale of this rare dime highlights the value that certain coins can hold over time and the excitement they can generate among collectors.