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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,675 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2204 Posts |
One thing that makes the Barber 94-S dime so compelling is its mintage. It's hard to grasp modern-day mintages well into the billions for a single coin; but with 24 of the Barbers made that fateful year, it's easy to know what that means.
That got me to thinking: aside from the 1894-S dime, what regular-issue coin has the record for lowest mintage? Anybody know? Let's not include gold (or proofs).
*** Moved by Staff moved to a more appropriate forum. ***
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
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Valued Member
Taiwan
192 Posts |
The lowest mintage coin I know is Malaysian 1 cent 1976. I discovered this from a Malaysian kids' animation series on TV. That episode was about the main characters' old neighbor who forgot where he'd put his 1976 cent and said that only 100 of them existed. Turns out it's true, there are only 100 of them  |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
11922 Posts |
Using NGC as a reference, I am going to go with a German 50 reichspfennig piece from 1924, with a mintage of negative two. They say it is rare; I say that is an understatement.  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2204 Posts |
Ummm.... sorry that I didn't clarify: I meant only US coins. :) |
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
With Gold and proofs out, I can't think of any regular issue under the 94-S.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Working just with business strikes intended for circulation I don't think you can get close to the 94 S dime. Without looking at a RedBook the lowest I can think of off the top of my head are the 1796 with and without stars quarter eagles which I believe are under 500 each. I think there may be another very low one or two but the next one I am sure of is the 1885 nickel Three Cent piece with a mintage of 1,000. I can think of close to a dozen with mintages between one and two thousand coins. Opps sorry missed that you didn't want gold so take out the 96 quarter eagles. 1873 S Seated dollar had a lower mintage, but none are known today. The 1870 S Half Dime and dollar are as rare as the 94 S or rarer, but they have no official mintage figures. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
824 Posts |
How about the 1853 no arrows half dollar? I
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
What was the mintage of the 53 O no arrows? Coin World Almanac doesn't give a mintage. If you consider them business strikes even though they were struck as proofs the 1839 Gobrechet dollar takes the prize at 300. Lowest business strike mintage I see is for the 73 S Seated dollar at 700, but none are known. Next looks like the 1796 half dollar at 934. 1872 silver Three Cent and 1885 nickel Three Cent tie at 1,000. Then 1852 Seated dollar at 1,100. 1851 Seated dollar at 1,300. 1871 CC dollar at 1,376. 1796 Half Cent 1,390. 1836 Gobrecht at 1,600 (once again these were struck as proofs and released into circulation). 1884 nickel Three Cent at 1,700. And rounding out the top ten the 1794 dollar at 1,758. If you include gold coins there are a lot more contenders. |
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New Member
Czech Republic
17 Posts |
How about the 1913 liberty head nickel?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2204 Posts |
buben, the 1913 Liberty nickel was not a regular business strike and was probably produced illegally. Conder, thanks! That's the kind of research I was looking for. Would have done it myself--just lazy. (Yup, I know the gold coins would have made things more interesting--just trying to keep it real.) Edited by jpsned
01/15/2018 10:40 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1261 Posts |
How about the 1870-S Half Dime with a quantity of 1 is the lowest minted? Other contenders include the 1853-O No Arrows Half Dollar where 3 examples are known and the 1817/4 Half Dollar with 7 known. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
The 70 S Half Dime has no recorded mintage. Don't know if the 53 O no arrows half has an official mintage either, The 1817/14 half is a die variety, it doesn't have a separate mintage figure either and is just part of the 1,215,567 halves made that year. If you get into die varieties there are a LOT of varieties that have less than a dozen pieces known. |
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Valued Member
United States
321 Posts |
1841-O half eagle. Only 50 minted, and none are known to exist today.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
591 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
It wasn't. The mintage is listed in the records as a regular business strike and San Francisco didn't have the equipment to strike a true proof coin. They were listed as business strikes officially and in the early sales of the coins they were called business strikes. It wasn't until later sales that they started being called proofs. I believe when James Ruddy paid a record price at auction for one in 1954 it was list as a business strike coin. I think the changeover to calling them proofs started in the 1970's or 80's. The 1913 V nickel had a similar history. Early sales listed them as business strikes and in the 80's they "became" proofs. |
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,675 |
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Posted 01/13/2018 1:25 pm
