The Modern World

Who Says Late-Date Coins Are Cheap?

- David Schwager

Moderns are OK if you don’t have much to spend.” 

That common sentiment has some truth. Modern United States coins provide entry-level collectors with several opportunities to assemble appealing and inexpensive sets. 

Many moderns, however, are anything but affordable. It isn’t necessary to touch on the many common coins that have high values in uncommon grades. Even without grade rarity, modern U.S. coinage includes numerous scarce issues and desirable varieties that command impressive prices.

The most impressive value belongs to the 1975 no-S proof Roosevelt dime. The Philadelphia Mint made all coinage dies at the time, and its work included adding “S” mint marks to dies intended for San Francisco coinage. On several occasions, Mint workmen accidentally failed to add the “S” to proof dies shipped to the San Francisco Mint, which made all proof coins in most recent years. Proof coins are made one at a time with extra care, meaning someone should have noticed the mint mark’s absence. 

“No-S” proofs, however, went into proof sets sold to the public six times: with the 1968 dime, 1970 dime, 1971 nickel, 1975 dime, 1983 dime, and 1990 cent. Variety collectors value all of these and even the most common—the 1970 no-S dime, with about 500 pieces known—costs around $700.

The 1975 no-S dime, however, is on a far higher level. Collectors know of only two examples, with this scarcity earning it the No. 1 spot in the book 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins. Only one of the two has been sold at public auction, and it brought 349,600 at a 2011 Stack’s Bowers sale. That made it the most valuable modern coin.