Three sisters inherited a rare coin from their late brother — they soon realized it was worth a fortune

With old cards and coins emerging as precious collector's items, errors and anomalies are adding value to such objects by making them unique. Among them is one of the rarest coins in the world, which was sold for over $500,000 last month, after being hidden away for decades. Three sisters from Ohio, who inherited the “1975 ‘no S’ proof dime,” received a massive cash windfall at an online auction organized by GreatCollections. The California-based auction house that specializes in valuable currency, stated that only two such coins are known to exist.

What Makes the Dime so Special?

The coin minted at the U.S. Mint in San Francisco in 1975, depicts President Franklin D. Roosevelt and carries a rare anomaly that makes it special. While the mint made more than 2.8 million of the special uncirculated “proof” sets, collectors later discovered that only two dimes from the set were missing the “S” mint mark. Mint marks are letters on coins that indicate where they were produced. For instance, the U.S. Mint’s Philadelphia branch once marked their coins with the letter “P,” and some coins made at the West Point Mint were marked with a “W."

Previously, the other known example of the “1975 ‘no S’ proof dime” was sold for a whopping $456,000 at an auction in 2019. Months later, it was again sold to a private collector for an undisclosed amount. The president of GreatCollections, Ian Russell told the Associated Press, that while there are the only two 1975 “no S” proof dimes known to exist, it is "certainly possible" that there are more such coins hidden away in private collections. “Most major collectors and dealers have never seen one," Russell added.

A Fortune Hidden Away

Russell said the sisters from Ohio, who chose to remain anonymous, told him that they inherited one of the two rare dimes from their late brother and mother. They shared that the coin with the anomaly was first discovered in 1978, and their mother bought it for just $18,200. Once their parents, who ran a dairy farm, realized the coin was valuable, they stored it in a bank vault to keep it safe as financial security. The sisters had heard about the coin's existence but never knew its details and value.

Russell told Newsweek that the brother had previously reached out to him about seven years ago to get his opinion on the coin. However, they chose to keep the coin a secret.  The sisters had never seen the coin until last year when their brother passed away. Upon its discovery, the coin was put up for sale via GreatCollections and it finally fetched $506,250 in an online auction that concluded late last month.

Before the auction, Russell had talked about the significance of the find. “This is a very exciting coin for our company to auction,” Russell told Newsweek. “We’ve handled many trophy coins over the years, including two 1913 nickels and two 1804 silver dollars—but this is the first time for the 1975 ‘no S’ proof dime," he added. Russel believes that the discovery and sale of the coin will encourage enthusiasts to look for others like it.