1894-S Barber Dime Sells For Record $1.9 Million

Mitchell Spivack (left) of Wonder Coins, representing the seller, collector Daniel Rosenthal, hands the finest known 1894-S Barber dime to John Feigenbaum of David Lawrence Rare Coins at a bank vault in Oakland, California. Photo credit: Justin Spivack

(Virginia Beach, VA) John Feigenbaum, President of David Lawrence Rare Coins (DLRC, agent for Buyer) and Mitchell J. Spivack (wondercoins.com; agent for seller), jointly announced today the completion of DLRC’s purchase of the finest known 1894-S Barber Dime. The transaction was completed in a private treaty transaction between the collector (seller), Daniel Rosenthal and his professional representative, Mr. Spivack on the one hand, and DLRC on behalf of their buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous.

This coin, graded Proof 66 by PCGS, enjoys one of the richest pedigrees in numismatics, dating to the Clapp Collection around the turn of the Century. A brief history of the coin is as follows:

• J.M. Clapp
• Acquired by Louis Eliasberg when he purchased Clapp's collection in 1942.
• Acquired by James Stack at a Stack's Auction (no relation) in 1947
• Sold in January 1990 for $275,000 (Stack's) and later acquired by Jay Parrino of the The
Mint.
• Acquired by B. Hirst, owner of the Richmond Collection in 1998 for $825,000 in private
treaty transaction with David Lawrence Rare Coins
• Acquired by Dan Rosenthal, owner of the 'Just Having Fun' Collection in March 2005
Richmond Collection Auction for $1,322,500.
• Acquired today by Anonymous Investor for $1,900,000 in private treaty transaction with David Lawrence Rare Coins, purchaser of coin from Daniel Rosenthal (owner) and his
agent, Mitchell Spivack.

This is the third time John Feigenbaum and David Lawrence Rare Coins have successfully sold this important numismatic rarity. According to Feigenbaum, "this is the one coin that most defines my numismatic legacy. My father, David Lawrence Feigenbaum, originally wrote a detailed pedigree on the 1894-S dime in 1990, and it was his life's ambition to own this specimen. It is the finest of the nine known examples, and both PCGS and NGC have graded it Proof 66 on several occasions. Even at the current market level, I think this piece remains underrated, especially considering its peers in other collectibles. Being the finest example among a top-5 U.S. coin is truly special. Frankly, I think it's right up there with the 1913 nickel and 1804 dollar in desirability." Spivack added that “it was a pleasure handling the original purchase and (now) sale of this great coin for Daniel Rosenthal, who goes by the moniker “Justhavingfun”. Daniel is the “collector’s collector”. His passion for the study of numismatics is second to none and the depth and quality of his U.S. and Philippine coin collections is simply remarkable – nothing short of museum quality. I have no doubt that Mr. Rosenthal will ultimately be shown to be one of the greatest coin collectors of our time and it has been a wonderful experience working with him on building his spectacular coin collection”.

A detailed account of the pedigree of known 1894-S dimes can be found on the davidlawrence.com web site at: http://www.davidlawrence.com/coins/1894s-detail.cfm
This coin is noted on the roster as Lawrence-3.

More information on David Lawrence Rare Coins can be found at www.davidlawrence.com.
David Lawrence Rare Coins
PO Box 9174
Virginia Beach, VA 23450
800-776-0560
www.davidlawrence.com
email: [email protected]

Note: Hi Resolution, color images of this item is available by request.