PCGS Featured Coin: 1894-S Barber Dime PCGS PR63

There are three major rarities in American numismatics: the iconic 1804 Draped Bust Dollar, the legendary 1913 Liberty Nickel, and the beloved 1894-S Barber Dime. Unlike either the 1804 Draped Bust Dollar or the 1913 Liberty Nickel, the 1894-S Barber Dime was officially recorded by the United States Mint during the year of its striking. However, the circumstances under which these three magnificent rarities were produced prompt more questions than factual answers can satisfy. That’s most certainly the case with the 1894-S Barber Dime, a coin whose very origin leaves many wondering.

Only 24 proof Barber Dimes were struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1894, which begs the questions: “Why just 24 dimes?” “Why were they struck as proofs?”

American Numismatic Association President Farran Zerbe reportedly learned upon a visit to the San Francisco Mint in 1905 that a minor accounting shortfall spurred production of enough dimes to help balance the books. In 1972, numismatist James Johnson published a story based on the memories of Hallie Daggett, the daughter of San Francisco Mint Superintendent John Daggett, who asserted the dimes were produced as souvenirs for her father’s banker friends visiting the San Francisco Mint. In 1994, numismatic researcher William Burd published an article suggesting that the elder Daggett may have held a reception to commemorate his nomination to his post a year earlier and produced the dimes as presentation pieces for East Coast dignitaries attending the event.

More than 130 years later, no official documentation has turned up definitive answers that explain how or why the 1894-S Barber Dime came to be. However, it’s fitting that, like the 1804 silver dollar and 1913 nickel, the 1894-S dime carries a tempting air of mystique and an element of the unknown.

Every great coin has a story, and there is no shortage of stories with this prestigious rarity, which now is estimated to number just 13 survivors across all grades. The finest numismatic cabinets have hosted at least one example of the 1894-S Barber Dime. This specimen, graded PCGS PR63, once resided in the esteemed collection of the Honorable R. Henry Norweb and Emery May Holden Norweb, both scholars of the highest numismatic degree. The Norweb Collection laid claim to many of the finest trophies, including this 1894-S Barber Dime, which has been consigned to Stack’s Bowers Galleries. For more than three decades this legendary rarity has been off the market, widely known to have been the centerpiece of the Charles Litman Collection.

The specimen dazzles with its resilient surfaces, awash in hues of champagne and dappled with kisses of aquamarine, lavender, and russet. Sparks of fiery orange and indigo punctuate the center-right obverse and upper-central reverse fields. A sharp strike and bold devices proclaim this coin a prized crown jewel fit to grace the most renowned collections.

John Pack, Stack’s Bowers Galleries executive director of consignments, commented, “I have been in communication with the owners of this coin for many years and was delighted to finally have this legendary coin arrive on my desk. After decades of being held in the same collection, it is exciting to plan for our upcoming offering of it as a highlight of our Summer Global Showcase Auction, its first public auction appearance since our Norweb Sale in 1987.”