14 DAY TRIAL // The dime is a coin worth ten cents, or one tenth of a United States dollar, the smallest in diameter and thinnest of all currently circulating coins. These days, there's not much you can buy with a dime in the US, unless you happen to have an exclusive model, that's worth $1.9 million.
The $1.9 million dime was produced at the stately Old Mint on Fifth Street, in San Francisco, and it is known as a Barber-style dime, featuring an image of Liberty on the obverse. It has a Phrygian cap, a laurel wreath with a ribbon, and a headband with the inscription "LIBERTY." On the reverse, a wreath of corn and wheat are imprinted along the words "one dime".
It is a 1894-S dime in mint condition, one of only nine known to exist, and one of only 24 known to be coined that year in San Francisco. Not designed for common use, it was meant to be a special gift by the mint director for some visiting big shots, according to a San Francisco Chronicle article.
However, at least one of these rare coins may still be around there somewhere, since the director reportedly gave it to his young daughter, who used it wisely, to buy ice cream. No one knows whether that coin still exists somewhere or if it now lies in a private collection.
"It's the Holy Grail of coins,'' said John Feigenbaum, a 38-year-old coin dealer from Virginia Beach, who flew out of San Jose this week to get the coin from the seller and bring it to the buyer. "But Liberty, how can I say it, she's not the prettiest. Actually, it's considered an ugly coin. Sometimes, ugliness can be attractive.''
The transport of this coin is probably as interesting as the coin itself, as the man bought a coach ticket on a regular plane, wore flip-flops on his feet the whole trip and drove inconspicuous sedans all the way from the airport to the dealer and back.
On the return trip, he could not sleep, drink or eat, and constantly reached for his briefcase, to feel the coin, knowing that taking it out for examination would raise suspicions and possibly some unwanted interest.
The buyer said he had bought it strictly as an investment and did not intend to spend it, so it's likely that the coin will end up in a well guarded safe of the owner, who wanted to remain anonymous, for obvious reasons.