By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez for CoinWeek …..
The 1975 No-S Proof Roosevelt dime is one of the hottest modern coins in the marketplace after a PR-68 example graded by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) recently crossed the block for an astounding $456,000, including 20% buyer’s fee. The coin, which sold in the Heritage Auctions sale at Long Beach on September 6, 2019, hadn’t been on an auction floor in eight years.
Then on September 11, the dime’s buyers–Mitch Spivack, his son Justin Spivack of MonsterCoinMart, and Roosevelt specialist Steven Heller–sold the coin via agent Nick Cascio to a fellow Roosevelt dime collector for $516,000, a new record price.
The 1975 No-S Proof now joins the Halycon Collection of Roosevelt dimes, highly ranked in the PCGS Set Registry.
But while eight years might seem like a long time between spikes in action for such a rarity, it’s nothing unusual for this piece. Only two 1975 No-S Roosevelt dimes are known, and both have histories of being held in collections for many years at a time.
The 1975 No-S Dime in the Marketplace
Over the course of this specimen’s existence, it has been traded publicly very infrequently. Both this modern rarity and the other known 1975 No-S dime were discovered by a woman who purchased a bulk order of five 1975-S Proof sets from the United States Mint. She saw that in two of the sets the Proof dime lacked an “S” mintmark and in July 1977 sent one of the coins to Coin World for review by staff involved with the magazine’s “Collector’s Clearinghouse”.
She also submitted both coins to ANACS, which in the pre-slab era of the late 1970s provided authentication services for coins. After ANACS announced its certification of one of the coins in January 1978, coin collectors across the country began searching for other 1975 No-S Roosevelt dimes in their Proof sets. Perhaps remarkably, while the Mint produced 2,845,450 Proof sets in 1975, there have been no other reported discoveries of 1975 No-S dimes.
With the numismatic community cognizant of the apparent extreme rarity of the 1975 No-S dime, the original collector who discovered the two error varieties sold the two Proof sets to Illinois coin dealer Fred Vollmer. In 1980, within months of acquiring the two sets, Vollmer sold both for big bucks.
One was sold to an Ohio collector for $18,200, and this collector reportedly still owns the set today; his 1975 No-S dime has since been certified by PCGS as a PR66. The other set, containing the specimen that took $456,000 at the Long Beach Show, was sold for $38,550. That piece eventually went to coin dealer Ken Goldman, who consigned it to Stack’s Bowers. That coin, by then graded PCGS PR68, sold for $349,600 in August 2011 and was held by the same anonymous collector until 2019, when it sold at the Long Beach Expo for some $100,000 more than it realized in its previous offering eight years earlier.
How Was the 1975 No-S Dime Created?
The 1975 No-S Roosevelt dime is chronologically flanked by several other No-S Proof coins that were created during the same era, including three in the Roosevelt dime series minted in 1968, 1970, and 1983. The story behind how the ultra-rare error 1975 No-S dime was created is unclear, though what’s evident is that somehow a die without the “S” mintmark was used to produce a small run of Proofs.
Such an oversight is perhaps excusable as the San Francisco Mint was tasked with the production of 71,991,900 no-mintmark business-strike dimes to help supplement circulation needs. These no-mintmark dimes are indistinguishable from the Philadelphia-minted 1975 dimes, which also do not carry a mintmark. It is theorized that, as the S-mint dies were manufactured at the Philadelphia Mint and were to be polished at San Francisco prior to proof striking, perhaps one of the no-mintmark business-strike dies was polished alongside the S-mint proof dies and accidentally placed into action on the presses.
Surely one could speculate whether or not this was all really an innocent mistake or whether it was intentional. It is not outlandish to theorize that the no-mintmark die was purposefully used to strike up a small run of 1975 No-S dimes. After all, several other freakish, seemingly impossible numismatic curiosities came out of the Mint during that era, including the 1970-S Washington quarter struck on a 1941 Canadian quarter and the 1970-S Washington quarter struck on a 1900 Barber quarter.
Meanwhile, collectors continue searching for any other 1975 No-S Roosevelt dimes that may exist. With more than four decades behind us since the two known dimes were discovered, it’s doubtful that a third example will turn up anytime soon. If any others were minted, they must have been discovered before they left the San Francisco Mint and were promptly destroyed.
Or, if one or two others exist, then perhaps they are floating around in a small hoard of previously unsearched Proof sets–not implausible given that many collectors ordered bulk quantities of Proof sets but stored them away in their original shipping cartons and have long since forgotten them.
One thing is certain, however. Any 1975 Roosevelt dimes without mint marks that turn up with great frequency in circulation are not examples of the rare 1975 No-S Proof dime. Rather, they are ordinary Philadelphia Mint circulation strikes that, if worn, are worth only face value.
Love thinking about the possibility that somewhere out there, in someone’s basement or attic or closet, there are more of these out there. Very plausible.
I do have a 1975 no s dim hopefully is the one they are looking for
I have a 1975 dime that is off struck and I believe is copper
I am sure that there are some still hiding away some where in somebody’s collection and they do not even know about it. Heck, I may even have 1 but I am not about to go tearing through all my proof sets. I have every proof set from 1950 til now with multiples of various years.
I have a 1975 dime with no mint Mark, I would like to know the worth.
I have one too found in a little bank in very good condition
I found a 1975 no-mint marked dime in good condition while sorting through change to prepare for a yard sale. How can I tell if it is Philadelphia or A rare San Francisco mistake? I do not see any signs that could indicate a difference on other dimes other than the mint mark..?
I live in California where could I check my coins LA
I live in Slidell La. where could I check my ?
I have an unopened 1975 proof set with the no s dime. Exact one as in the above picture. Who do I contact?
I have a 1975 no s Roosevelt dime that when you turn it sideways and look at the insignia it looks exactly like the one in the picture it looks like it says 50 sideways in the mint section
Exactly like the one in the photo of this ad please let me know who to contact
I have a 1975 no S mint.
If they aren’t in a proof set there not the San Francisco no s mint
Thats not truth please read un the 1975 the dyes was sent from philadelphia to sanfrancisco . Stella H Sims was the mint director Godbless her soul and a handful escaped the mint . So please stop telling the wrong story the mint records was destroyed and nobody knows how many escaped before being discovered. I am a proud owner of a 1975 proof dime . When it was discovered the dye was destroyed. Identical markers could only come from same dye .
I have a no s dime 1975 in a proof set
I just found a a 1975 No-S Roosevelt dime
Who do i contact ??
I have a 1975 Dime with no s
I have a 1975 no s mint mark as well is it valuable
Bună seara am un exemplar one dime1975 no s și pe partea cealaltă a monedei lipsește un s, as dori sa l valorific însă nu știu corect unde as putea sa ma adresez, mulțumesc pentru răspunsurile voastre.
I have 1972 dime with no s mint mark, is it valuable?
Anneline
I also have a 1975 dime with no s exactly like the the photo, who do I contact
i also have a 1975 roosvelt dime with no s mint mark! anyone know who to contact.
I have a question are the Philadelphia dimes and the San Francisco s dimes the same weight? Because I have a 75 dime with no mint mark believed to be from a set.
I have come across a 1975 no mint dime. But I notice it is off set and the W is right on the edge of the dime. The whole word liberty is the same way right on the edge! Would anyone like to see it or talk to me about my lovely misfit dime?
I have one whit número 2 inverted instead the s at trust
How can i upload a picture of it
Dos any one know about this mistake
I also notice that my dime that I have is slightly smaller than a regular dime and barely has an edge! Would one like to see my misfit dime?
I also have a dime without the s 1975
Who do I contact for this?
I am located in Anchorage Alaska
I have a 1975 dime with no s how I check my coin value?
Patients my friends you shall know the answer by September 6, 2021. You will hear and see nine different sizes and shapes of the 1975 S dimes. Philadelphia versus San Francisco. JB coin hunter
I just found a 1975 no mark dime in great condition in my change it also has a werird in god we trust is all scrunched up being fit in around the rim kinda neat looking
Me too did u find where to get it appraised
I have a 1975 dime no S does anyone know where can I find a buyer?
i have 5 1975 no s dimes but icompare the color of one another the other one is looks like no s proof ccan you help me which the real one thk you . i will send you the pics thank you
I think I have something here it’s a 1975 no s but severely misprinted!!
I have got a dime without mark 1975 how could i know it’s value could any one contact me please
Hi I just want to see if anyone who has a 1975no s dime would mind if they send me a picture of what there dime look like. I really want to compare with 2 that I have . One is very interesting diferente from the other. Anyone could tell the difrence whith looking at them. Thank.you
I have had a 1975 no mark for several years but I will I know if its the right one
I have a very missed printed no ment dime: in God is missing the I and we trust is also not correctly defined-also my dime is small and dark compared to others
I have a very shiny 1975 no mint mark dime look as it never been circulated. I need to find out where to get it checked at.
I have a 1975 dime s in good condition
I have a 1975 dime no mint mark
I have a 1975 dime not minted. The L on liberty isn’t complete the W on We trust is on the rim of the coin. Seems to be errors. Please let me know who to contact. Earlier post was an error in type.
i have 3 1975 no- S dime js can you tell me where to call ?
i have a 1975 dime i would like to know where do i send it to get checkout