By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

The Palakika collection was the highlight of Heritage’s Platinum Night event at the CSNS convention in St. Louis. Two of my previous articles covered the Palakika 1812 Half Eagle ($5 gold) and 1858 Eagle ($10). The most curious and noteworthy price realized was $63,250 for an 1893-S dime. An 1893-S in Good-04 condition could be purchased for less than $15!

This ‘Rarity of the Week’ is not literally rare. It is a scarcity. The 1893-S is not even one of the ten scarcest business strikes in the Barber Dime series, 1892 to 1916. The main, though not the only, objective here is to understand the reasons for the $63,250 result.

The Palakika 1893-S is graded MS-67 by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). While I have never seen it, I do know that it was so graded before 2003. Before the auction, the PCGS price guide estimated it to be worth $17,500. Previously, an 1893-S dime had never realized even close to that much at auction. Has an 1893-S ever sold for more than $10,000?

A collector, who is an expert in Barber dimes, informed me that the Palakika 1893-S is a mid-range MS-67. He examined it himself and also had another grading expert view it for him. He prefers that his name not be mentioned. According to him, while there is “not a chance” that it would upgrade to MS-68, it is a very appealing coin. I have not found anyone who disputes the MS-67 grade.

The Palakika 1893-S is said to have extremely attractive, natural toning, and appealing, underlying, cartwheel luster, especially on the reverse (back of the coin). One serious bidder already has a PCGS graded MS-66 1893-S, and wanted this one as an upgrade.

The bidding opened and closed at the price realized. There was no floor action. According to my source on the scene, there were at least three collectors who were willing and able to pay between $30,000 and $40,000. One bidder ‘on the floor’ was willing to pay around $50,000. The buyer was an Internet bidder.

It is very difficult to analyze the rarity of business strike Barber Dimes as there are thousands of each in existence. The 1895-O has the lowest mintage, 440,000! If just one percent survive, there would be 4400 1895-O dimes today. There are no documented survival rates. Besides, the survival rate may vary among dates, and published mintage figures are sometimes not accurate. The broader point is that the scarcity of Barber Dimes is largely unknown, and there is scant evidence available for estimates.

No one would suggest that there are fewer than 1500 1895-O dimes extant, and everyone would agree that the 1895-O is the rarest business strike. Therefore, there are no very rare dates in the Barber Dime series, except the 1894-S, which is a Great Rarity.

Rarity and pricing issues, as they relate to analyzing this $63,250 result, pertain to the number of the scarcer date dimes that grade MS-65 or higher. A date that is not rare, or not very rare, in general, but is very rare above a certain grade level is a ‘condition rarity.’ Several dates in the Barber Dime series, including the 1893-S, are extremely rare in MS-65 and higher grades, the gem quality range.

Prices above $5000 for business strike Barber Dimes generally stem from the supply and demand of particular dates in MS-65 and higher grades. The collectors who strongly desire gem quality Barbers do not seem to be concerned about the prices or availability of dimes that grade less than MS-64. Interestingly, several such collectors demand only Barber Dimes that grade MS-66 or higher, and do not concern themselves with the number available in lower grades.

For nearly twenty years, there has been a varying trend among many collectors, who are not collecting any series ‘by date,’ to acquire gem scarce date pieces because they are cool and important. The collector known as ‘Palakika,’ for example, sought out scarce and rare date coins for his type collection.

Generally, since 2002, the number of collectors who focus upon gem quality Barber Dimes, MS-65 and higher grade coins, has substantially risen, along with the intensity of their demands. There has not been an equivalent increase in demand for Barber dimes that grade MS-63 or MS-64.

Heritage has auctioned three PCGS graded MS-66 1893-S dimes, in June 2002 for $3680, in Jan. 2006 for $9200, and in May 2005 for $9775. In Nov. 2004, a PCGS graded MS-65 ‘93-S realized $5463. In other auctions, PCGS graded MS-65 dimes of this date have sold for between $2000 and $3000.

Interestingly, collector EHG has the first ranked Barber Dime set in the registry of the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC), and he does not yet have an 1893-S! Finding an appealing, gem quality 1893-S might be more difficult than most collectors realize.

The top three current Barber Dime sets in the PCGS registry (Law, SB & MM), unfortunately, are cloaked; their contents are not revealed. Each of these three registrants had a motive to bid on the Palakika 1893-S dime, as it is the only MS-67 of the date.

The three best collections of dimes to be sold in the last half-century (along with the year in which each was auctioned) are James A. Stack (1990), Allen Lovejoy (1990), and Louis Eliasberg (1996). Possibly, the dimes of the Norweb family (1987) are not far behind. The Stack and Eliasberg collections placed little emphasis on Barber dimes, other than the 1894-S. For most all the great collectors of the past, Barber Dimes were largely an afterthought. Lovejoy made an effort to obtain some superb gem Barbers, but he devoted most of his efforts to acquiring Bust dimes.

The Norweb collection did not even have an 1893-S! The Norwebs had an 1894-S, which, for years, was the only Barber Dime that received much attention.

Three pages of color pictures featured thirty-six dimes in the catalogue of the Allen Lovejoy collection, which was auctioned by Stack’s in Oct. 1990. The Norweb-Lovejoy 1894-S was the only Barber Dime pictured in color.

The late James A. Stack is not related to the family that founded the Stack’s auction firm. He formed the first or second best all-time collection of dimes. The rarities and supergrade coins in the collection are Bust dimes and Liberty Seated Dimes. Barbers were not highlights. When he actively collected rare coins, mostly in the 1940s, Barber Dimes were not sought after by advanced collectors; they were often spent. He did have the finest known 1894-S dime, which was later in the Richmond collection, and last auctioned by DLRC in March 2005.

The James A. Stack 1893-S dime graded at least MS-63 in 1990. It is plausible that either PCGS or NGC have assigned it a higher grade during the last seventeen years. It is not one of the finest known.

As there were so many fantastic coins in the Eliasberg 1996 sale, I did not even bother to write a note about the 1893-S dime. I do not remember it. The cataloguer said that it graded “MS-64.”

John Hugon’s collection of Barber coins was auctioned by Heritage at the January 2005 FUN extravaganza. Hugon had the best all-time collection of business strike Barber Dimes that has ever been sold at public auction. Curiously, Hugon’s 1893-S was one of the weak links in his incredible set. It is an unimpressive PCGS graded MS-64 piece.

For the known, pristine gem, 1893-S dimes, there does not seem to be much of a pedigree record. The decisions by leading contenders in the PCGS set registry to cloak the contents of their collections are not conducive to analyzing condition rarities or to education in general.

It is still a significant event when any business strike Barber dime realizes more than $10,000 at auction. Though some 1894-S dimes did circulate, all were struck as Proofs. (There are some experts who argue that a few of the 1894-S dimes were not struck as Proofs.) It has been decades since any 1894-S dime has sold for less than $10,000. In an earlier era, Proof-67 Barber Dimes of any date were worth more than $10,000 each.

A 1909-D (Denver Mint) dime, PCGS graded MS-66, sold for nearly $15,000 in the Heritage auction of March 2003. A 1911, NGC certified “MS-68*” sold for an astounding $20,700 in a May 2003 Superior Galleries auction. It is a very common date. A 1911 dime in Good-04 condition could be purchased for around $2.

The 1894-O (New Orleans Mint) Dime is significantly scarcer than the 1893-San Francisco Mint Dime. In June 2000, Heritage auctioned a PCGS graded MS-65 1894-O for $10,063. In October 2000, Superior Galleries auctioned an NGC MS-66 1894-O for $13,225. In Nov. 2004, ANR sold a PCGS MS-65 1894-O, for $16,100. The Hugon 1894-O, PCGS MS-66, sold for more than $20,000 in Jan. 2005.

It seems that the record for this date was set when Heritage auctioned an NGC graded MS-67 1894-O dime for $31,000 and change in May 2005. This is less than half the price of the Palakika 1893-S. A PCGS graded MS-67 1894-O has never been auctioned because none have been so graded. If a fresh 1894-O were to be PCGS graded MS-67 and then auctioned, would it realize more than $63,000?

As the scarcest business strike, the 1895-O is subject to the most demand among the tens of thousands of people who collect Barber Dimes. Even in MS-62 grade, an 1895-O has realized $10,350, in a Nov. 2004 ANR auction.

At a Jan. 1990 Stack’s auction, the James A. Stack 1895-O was purchased by a speculator who lives in a suburb of New York City. It was certified as MS-63 soon after the auction. It could plausibly have been upgraded to MS-64 by PCGS or NGC at some point during the last seventeen years.

The Hugon 1895-O grades a low MS-65, and it brought almost $30,000 in Jan. 2005. Another PCGS graded MS-65 1895-O was auctioned by Heritage in Nov. 2005 for $27,600. Still another was sold by Heritage in Jan. 2006 for $20,700. The record for an 1895-O was set when Heritage auctioned a PCGS graded MS-66 coin in Denver in August 2006. It garnered an astounding $52,900. Before the Palakika 1893-S was sold, this result was probably the auction record for a business strike Barber Dime.

Consider, just in imaginary terms, that an 1895-O dime is newly discovered, is PCGS graded MS-67, and is widely praised as meriting a solid -67 grade. Would such an 1895-O realize an amount in between $70,000 and $120,000 at auction? There is a good chance that it would, especially since there is only one PCGS graded MS-66 1895-O and it would become the only PCGS graded MS-67.

Before Aug. 2006, the previous record for a business strike Barber Dime was set when the Hugon 1895 Philadelphia Mint dime went under the block for $46,000. The Hugon 1895 was and still is the only PCGS graded MS-67 dime of this date. This price stunned me. I very much liked the coin, though I did not think that its grade was in the ‘high end’ of the -67 range. I was more enthusiastic about other dimes in the Hugon collection.

The Hugon 1892-S was an absolutely incredible dime, PCGS graded MS-66. It has terrific natural toning, a mix of blue, green, russet and tan. It has an amazing strike, with very strongly formed outer devices (raised areas near the periphery, including “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”). During my brief examination of it, my impression was that it has probably never been cleaned or dipped. The obverse (front of the coin) is extremely attractive, and the reverse nearly so. People gasped when it sold for $25,300, eight times the value at the time of an MS-65 1892-S, and more than three times the value then in the PCGS price guide. I thought that it was worth it.

The reality is that some of the leading bidders might not even have looked at the Hugon 1892-S, nor even had an agent look at it. I hope that many collectors examined it and appreciated it. My guess, though, is that several serious bidders only cared about the fact that it is PCGS graded MS-66 and that no 1892-S dime has ever been PCGS graded MS-67.

Suppose that another superb gem 1892-S dime were to be discovered, and leading experts in the Barber series agreed that it really warranted an MS-67 grade. If auctioned at a major event, would such a coin bring a price between $50,000 and $75,000? Yes, it probably would. In terms of overall scarcity, and in terms of rarity in MS-65 and higher grades, the 1892-S and the 1893-S are commensurable.

At auction, an 1893-S dime in MS-65 grade might be available for between $2000 and $3200, and an MS-64 for between $1400 and $1900. An MS-63 grade 1893-S could certainly be obtained for well under $1000.

The key point in understanding the $63,250 result for the Palakika 1893-S is that the leading bidders (including those who were seriously considering bidding) are focused upon the condition rarity of Barber Dimes in MS-66 and higher grades. Certain dates in the series are extremely rare in this grade range. Indeed, I was startled when I learned that for around fifteen dates in the series the PCGS has not graded one coin as MS-67. There are several other dates in the Barber Dime series for which only one or two coins have been graded MS-67. So, among the many thousands that exist for most of these dates, from zero to two have graded MS-67!

The condition rarity, especially in MS-66 and -67 grades, of many Barber Dimes explains, in part, why some of the greatest collections of all time did not have superb gem Barber Dimes of many dates. These collectors probably just could not find the superb pieces. Before numerical grading became somewhat standardized, it was difficult for the potential buyers of superb gem Barber coins to find the sellers. Often, the sellers did not really know that they had superb gem Barbers, and the buyers did not know where to look. Besides, until the 1980s, almost all dates in Barber series were not considered important enough to justify very time-consuming searches for superb gem quality coins.

Now that I have analyzed the auction result for the Palakika 1893-S, the only dime of this date to be PCGS graded MS-67, the reasons for the $63,250 price should be clear. Likewise, the same approach has been employed to interpret the $52,900 result for the highest graded 1895-O, the $46,000 price for the highest PCGS graded 1895, and the $25,300 price for the Hugon 1892-S which is tied as the highest graded ‘92-S dime. The reasons boil down to condition rarities, condition rankings, and the demands by a growing number of collectors to complete Barber sets with only gem quality pieces, or even only MS-66 and higher grade coins.

Personally, I often see MS-66 grade coins that I like more than MS-67 or -68 grade coins of the same type and date. Sometimes, an MS-66 grade coin may have a very small number of contact marks or hairlines yet have terrific natural toning, an excellent strike, and/or a lot of flash. Although numerical grades are important, I suggest that collectors should try to get to know the personalities of coins and appreciate their own individual characteristics.

© 2007 Greg Reynolds