The Proof 1975-S Roosevelt, No S Dime: A Cautionary Tale

The life of a coin dealer is seldom easy and it definitely doesn’t get easier when a very valuable coin comes to market that has any semblance to easily

The life of a coin dealer is seldom easy and it definitely doesn’t get easier when a very valuable coin comes to market that has any semblance to easily available pieces. It gets even worse when the general media grabs the story.

While we certainly appreciate the positive spin the story puts on numismatics, we lament the unintended consequences that will inevitably appear. We’ve used this space to talk about how misinterpreted or misrepresented information can lead to disappointing outcomes.

Well, it’s going to be happening again, a lot.

I woke up Sunday to see a general interest news service delivering the report of the Proof 1975-S Roosevelt, No S dime from a Proof set created at the San Francisco Mint and headed for auction, the coin that graced the cover a recent issue of Coin World. It wasn’t a surprise, but everywhere you turned, there was the story. It is a truly newsworthy event, and we haven’t seen the last of it. Coverage won’t end until GreatCollections auctions the coin in late October.

The Proof coin at the heart of the matter, one of only two known examples, is not the same as the average, run-of-the-mill dimes that were made by the millions at a different Mint in 1975. That’s what someone not involved in numismatics is not going to grasp as quickly as they should.

Now, as Joe Average looks through his change and somehow comes upon a dime that is nearly 50 years old (and looks like those hundreds of millions of other dimes), he is going to believe he has found the Holy Grail. The phone calls have already started.

We published a story on coinworld.com years ago about 1975 dimes from the Philadelphia Mint selling for unreal money on internet sales platforms, purchased by people who didn’t know any better. In fact, there was a call just yesterday. The internet is perpetual. Once it’s out there, it’s out there forever.

I recently read a column written by Jeff Garrett for Numismatic Guaranty Company. Garrett’s words focused on misinformation and the importance of relying on experienced, knowledgeable professionals who know what they’re talking about. The line that struck me, paraphrasing now, cautioned that arguing with the expert can get you hung up on. For further support of this contention, check out what Brad Karoleff has to say on page 27. He’s another one who’s there in the trenches and has been for some time.

I’m sure dealers hear it all the time — “I know what I have,” but if you already know, why are you going through the exercise? Dealers are far too busy working to keep the lights on to look at every 1975 dime that’s not a Proof coin, every 2013 $100 note and every $2 bill because a completely different low-serial-number example was sold at auction.

It’s exciting when coins like the Proof 1975-S Roosevelt, No S dime appear in the market. It’s not something that happens all of the time, and there’s a reason for that. These coins are rare. In the time it took to write this, about two dozen dealers answered the phone, dealt with a soon-to-be-disgruntled customer face-to-face, or otherwise had to explain why the common unmarked coin has no additional value.

We live in a world of dreamers. It’s why we play the multimillion-dollar lottery jackpots, but those results are cut and dried, and it’s easy to see when you don’t hold a winning ticket. Coins, on the other hand, all look alike…until they don’t, when you begin to see something different about YOUR coin and start to believe you may have something special. You might, but if the expert says you don’t, remember, no means no.