Can You Dig It - Barber Dime?
Published by Larry on Tagged 1800's Coins, 1900's Coins, Give-A-Ways, Instuctional, Promotional
The month of August’s coin promo give-away is a 1914 Barber Dime. As early as 1879, many people were dissatisfied with the Seated Coin design and asked for new designs of almost all silver coinage.
In 1891, Chief Engraver Charles Barber, submitted to the Mint Director James Kimball new designs for dimes, quarters and half dollars. As the designer, these coins minted from 1892 thru 1916 bear his name.
Barber dimes are, for the most part, is a completeable set of coins with no significant date or mintmark rarities, except for the legendary 1894 S. The average collector will collect coins graded good to fine. Coins in higher grades do command higher prices as most of these common date coins were not saved in large numbers at mintage. This series has become a favorite of many collectors recently despite its lack of artistic beauty. I personally have dug up more than half of the coins in this collection and bartered and traded for many that I need only a few tougher dates to complete this set. The 1914 coin to be given away in August is a nice specimen. Please leave a comment on any of the 68 posts on this blog to qualify for this drawing.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I can remember getting Barber dimes in my daily change and really enjoying them. How long ago was that?! These have been replaced with the occasional wheat penny for a rare treat. Lee
July 16th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Still getting the hang of coin shooting, I’d be happy with some Roosevelt dimes, let alone a Barber!
Thanks for all the great info here! Hopefully I’ll be pulling some good finds soon.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I’ve been digging up other people’s money for a little while now, still looking for a Barber Dime. Maybe your giveaway will be my first Larry. Keep the great content coming.
BTW - I’m nearing completion of a 1909-date Lincoln UNC set only need a few hard to get ones. Ebay is outstanding for this-btw. Have you ever dug up an ’09s or ’09ssvb ? And in what kind of condition?
July 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Dan,
Got both of them. The 1909 SVDB is pictured on the blog. I found it in a tobacco tin of 13 coins which included a 1886 V Nickel too (This is on my 20 Best Finds recently moved over to front area of blog). The 09 S was found next to a 12 S. Both are in my book two which is complete metal detector finds, except for 1923 & 31 S’s, which are on my hit list. I need just a 19 D and 23 S to complete my SL Quarter set too.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Boy, those finds must’ve really thrilled you. I can only imagine hitting a cache box, pulling it out of the ground, and hearing coins jingling inside. Wondering what kind of valuables someone went to the trouble of burying all those years ago. And then to find not one but a few rare gems.
That feeling must really be something.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I really enjoy the content of your site especially because I live in Clearwater and go to Tarpon often. I’ve been lucky a few times finding Barber Dimes near old parking meters in Clearwater. I found a great quarter under 2 inches of compacted shell parking lot too…that was alot of work digging.
But Larry, did you find the pewter reale along a West Coast Beach/Pinellas?
Write more articles!
Andy
July 24th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Andy,
Thanks for the positive comments. I did find that 8 Reale coin off of a small beach area in Tarpon Springs that basically was a separate beach years ago for Afro-Americans (less than a quarter mile south of Sunset Beach). There was significant Spanish activity in and around Anclote River and I have a few relics in poor condition that attest to their presence in the area.
July 25th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Larry,
I really appreciate the info. You know that might make a great lead in for another article…. a long tie ago I got a Treasure Atlas and I’ve always wondered about the validity of the listings like Bailey’s Bluff near you. But you have much more experience than I do so are these type of listings more fantasy than fact? I know real research can be better and is more rewarding actually knowing the history. I’ve only found 2 unusual items in about 4 years of detecting 1. A musket ball near Ft. Ogden 2. A piece of copper from a ship’s naval clock which I foolishly sent to the State of Florida for identification and never got back. I did get a nice letter telling me what it was though…ugh. But just getting a couple of wheaties in Clearwater is a nice day for me :).
Andy
July 25th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
The Home Town Advantage came from many hours of fun research with the old-timers when I was in my early twenties. I learned so much and have sites I haven’t touched. Balley’s Bluff is real and about 25 years ago some Treasure Hunters went in there with heavy equipment and stripped much of the land overnight. No one knows who they were or what they were after. I found several arrowheads and other relics of cultures 3 thousand years and older back in the early seventies. There is a ghost town in the Anclote area before you get up to Bailey’s Bluff that is misreferenced in “Ghost Towns of Florida”. Robert Pent who lived to be 99 1/2 years, took me into the woods at age 92 and showed me the proof of the town’s location. My unusal finds in Tarpon are incredible. I tell about many of them on some of the older posts. Please feel free to ask questions about this area.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Larry,
Last Sunday was a great day to take the canoe out with my son. We went to Sunset Beach…the water was colder than expected. So we headed south from the outcropped beach and went around a small mangrove point. I saw several houses with docks/landings but really no beach that I could see. Perhaps we didn’t go far enough. Either way we had a great day. Also, did alot of research on Clearwater and found some good leads. Found a wheatie at one. Thanks again Larry.
Andy
August 6th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Glad you had a good day with your son. You were in the area of the beach. It was small like the population of the community. 1960’s only about 6,000 residents in city and black community was less than 15% of city populace. Sunset Beach has a great history and has turned some good finds too.