Over 200 bids were received for the most famous modern U.S. coin rarity offered at GreatCollections. The Proof 1975-S Roosevelt dime missing its S Mint mark, an error minted at the San Fransisco Mint and released in a Proof set from that Mint, realized $506,250 (including the buyer’s premium), setting a new all-time auction record at almost 30 times what the consignor’s family members paid for the coin 46 years ago.

The rarity was authenticated by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and graded PCGS Proof-67. It has also been approved by Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC).

“We received interest in this modern rarity from all over the world — serious collectors from Germany, Japan and the U.K., as well as collectors from the U.S. — over 400 unique bidders were actively tracking the auction,” said Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections.

“This is the Grail of modern coins, one that is missing from the Smithsonian, ANS and ANA institutional collections. After spirited bidding, it was ultimately won by a long-time client of ours who appreciates rarities that infrequently appear on the market. His goal is for his family to own it for the next 46 years, similar to the seller’s family who consigned it to GreatCollections,” continued Russell.

The information page at greatcollections.com revealed that the coin drew 37,180 page views while listed.

In 1978, an Ohio collector and his mother purchased the coin from well-known Chicago dealer F.J. Vollmer & Co. Inc. for $18,200 and held it for almost 50 years before the family consigned it to GreatCollections two months ago.

Years prior to the auction, the owners of the coin had brought it to the Coin World offices in Sidney, Ohio, where managing editor William T. Gibbs inspected the coin and confirmed it was the same one, then still sealed in its set, that Gibbs and other Coin World staff inspected and took images of back in 1977, before revealing its existence to the public after an early certification service confirmed its error status.

The coin’s consignment to the GreatCollections auction was covered in the Sept. 23, 2024, issue of Coin World. It was displayed at the GreatCollections booths this fall at the Long Beach Expo and the Great American Coin & Collectibles Show.

The U.S. Mint produced 2.84 million Proof sets in 1975 containing coins bearing the S Mint mark, signifying they were minted at the San Francisco Mint. Only two sets have been discovered containing the dime without the S Mint mark. The same person discovered both sets in California, and sold them to Vollmer in 1978 and 1979.

The other known example has appeared twice in auction, once in 2011 when it realized $349,600 and again in 2019, when it realized $456,000.

The Proof 1975-S Roosevelt, No S Dime is routinely ranked by numismatic professionals and collectors as the #1 modern issue of the United States, including the 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins book by Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett.

The GreatCollections auction that featured the dime also included over 4,000 certified coins and notes, resulting in sales of $3.13 million. Other highlights included a 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln cent, selections from a Seated dime variety collection, a serial number one Red Seal national bank note from Kelso, Washington, and an impressive 104-pound Yap stone.

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