Transition Varieties Of Barber Dimes

Very interesting to say the least. As a member of the BCCS I've heard of these different die marriages but never felt compelled to examine them more closely. To find two new varieties is a great accomplishment aiding to the history behind the design.

It was actually three new varieties. The 1899-P "early release" of the 1900-1905 Reverse 2, and the 1900-S Reverse 1, both based on the discovery of the third reverse type. The third new variety was the 1901-O Obverse 1. It was previously believed that all 1901 and later dimes were Obverse 2. And actually a fourth discovery - the 1901-O Obverse 1 coins all have a previously undocumented 1/1 RPD. There's a closeup of it in the slideshow.

It's pretty similar to the Jefferson nickel 1939 "reverse of 1938" and "reverse of 1940" scenario, among others. One interesting thing to me that makes the Barber dimes stand out is that it went on for 6 years, 1899-1905. Obviously not many collectors care, and I've had no luck getting any other publications to take notice, so I've posted here and over at NGC just in the hopes that the research doesn't disappear. There was an excellent BCCS article Fall 2017 by John Reynolds fleshing out the relative scarcity of the previously known 1901-1905 anomalies with the "thick ribbon" reverse (which I now call Reverse 3). The TPGs don't seem to want to designate the types either, which is another long story.

The questions that still intrigue me - Why did Barber subtly change the reverse for 1900, and then the obverse for 1901? Why did he change the reverse again partway into 1901, after just changing it a little over a year earlier? Where did San Francisco get all the Reverse 2 dies, production of which ended in early 1901, such that they continued minting Reverse 2 coins all the way into 1905? There will probably never be clear answers but speculating about it keeps me entertained.

Just arrived, 1903-S Reverse 3 "thick ribbon". Although this is the normal reverse for the year, for some reason San Francisco reverted to coining nearly all Reverse 2 "thin ribbon" from the 1900 design. VG Details-Damage but a slight upgrade from my AG-G4 raw example. I judge it as the toughest of the 1899-1905 transition varieties to find.