星空传媒

Skip to main content

Huge payout expected for a rare coin bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades

This undated image provided by GreatCollections shows a 1975 proof set dime mistakenly made without the San Francisco Mint鈥檚 letter S mintmark. (GreatCollections via AP) This undated image provided by GreatCollections shows a 1975 proof set dime mistakenly made without the San Francisco Mint鈥檚 letter S mintmark. (GreatCollections via AP)
Share
TOLEDO, Ohio -

Three sisters from Ohio who inherited a dime kept in a bank vault for more than 40 years knew it had some value. But they had no idea just how much until just a few years ago.

The extraordinarily rare coin, struck by the U.S. Mint in San Francisco in 1975, could bring more than US$500,000, said Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, which specializes in currency and is handling an online auction that will end in October.

What makes the dime depicting President Franklin D. Roosevelt so valuable is a missing 鈥淪鈥 mint mark for San Francisco, one of just two without the mark known to exist. The other one sold at a 2019 auction for US$456,000 and then again months later to a private collector.

While serious coin collectors have long known about the existence of these two rare dimes, their whereabouts had remained a mystery since the late 1970s.

鈥淭hey were hidden for decades.鈥 Russell said. 鈥淢ost major collectors and dealers have never seen one.鈥

The mint in San Francisco made more than 2.8 million special uncirculated 鈥減roof鈥 sets in 1975 that featured six coins and were sold for US$7. Collectors a few years later discovered that two dimes from the set were missing the mint mark.

The sisters from Ohio who inherited one of those two dimes after the recent death of brother want to remain anonymous given their sudden windfall, Russell said.

They shared with Russell that their brother and mother in 1978 bought the first error coin discovered for US$18,200, which would amount to roughly US$90,000 today. Their parents, who operated a dairy farm, saw the coin as a financial safety net.

One of the sisters said her brother often talked about the rare coin. But she never saw it first-hand until last year.

Russell, whose company is based in Irvine, Calif., said their brother reached out to him about seven years ago and eventually told him about the coin. He too kept the secret.

When Russell told one of the sisters just a few years ago about the coin's potential value, he said she remarked 鈥渋s that really possible?鈥

Now the coin, known as the 鈥1975 鈥榥o S鈥 proof dime,鈥 will be displayed at a coin show beginning Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., and before the auction closes in late October, Russell said.

While there is a chance more examples of the rare dime are out there, they would only be found among the 1975 鈥減roof鈥 sets and not in anyone's pocket change, Russell said.

Still, he expects this latest discovery to set off a lot of searching.

CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.

The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

Local Spotlight

Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

Saskatchewan鈥檚 Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.

Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.