Tiny Half Dime Sells For Over One Million Dollars

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jul 21st 2009 at 9:01AM

A tiny piece of change brought in some big money recently. The 1870-S half dime is a small silver coin struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1870. The coin was sold as part of a New Jersey man's collection of 93 mint-condition half dimes to Laura Sperber, President of Legend Numismatics of Lincroft, New Jersey. The entire collection went for $2.2 million and the 1870-S has a value of $1.4 million.

This tiny coin, a forerunner to the modern nickel, was not even known to exist until 1978. There were plans to create the coin but Mint records showed that no 1870-dated half dimes were made at San Francisco Mint. Then in 1978 this coin turned up in Chicago. It was sold for $425,000 and changed hands several times since then. It has been certified genuine by Professional Coin Grading Service of Newport Beach, California.

What's really interesting is that Sperber and Legend Numismatics originally bought the coin for $661,250 at an auction in 2004 and then sold to the New Jersey collector. The company re-purchased it five years later for more than double that price, and has already sold it along with the New Jersey man's other half dimes for an undisclosed amount.

Tags: collectibles, half dime, HalfDime, numismatics, rare coin, RareCoin

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

farril Aug 10th 2009 6:50PM

I have a half dime..silver in color....Farril

Audri Jul 24th 2009 1:12PM

I would like to know how many half dimes were minted and are they all worth big bucks? I too, have a excellent condition half dime. How do I find out?

George Clooney Jul 24th 2009 1:45AM

If you go to www.pcgs.com you will get info and a price guide for every coin minted by the US government, as well as foreign coins. Good luck.

Deidre Woollard Jul 23rd 2009 1:22PM

Hi Audri: Different half dimes are worth different amounts, here's a list with a little more info http://coins.ha.com/info/typevalues.php?Denom=Half%20Dime

Lana Clark Jul 23rd 2009 4:28PM

RE: In reading about the half dime story, I can't help but wonder how I can find out the
value of a very old 3 cent piece that I have. It is silver, the size of a dime and has the
Roman numeral III on the back.

Deidre Woollard Jul 23rd 2009 4:41PM

Hi Lana, I love answering questions like this. The three cent coin is a neat one, it was brought about to make stamp buying easier when stamps were three cents. The value varies depending on the year of production but many were made so they aren't worth as much as other rarer pieces. A recent article gives some more background and potential prices. http://numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=6541

Amorrow Jul 23rd 2009 9:25PM

Many years ago in 1964 when my mother died we went through her things and found some old coins she had. I had an uncle, who is dead now, and he took the coins with him because we were so young. I have no idea where they ended up, but I know there were two half dimes inwith the coins. because I remember my daddy and uncle discussing them. I was only 17. Can you tell me if there were any other half dimes made, and if so where can I find out more about them. Thank you so much. Ann