Half Dime - 1870-S Half Dime

1870-S Half Dime

In 1978 a coin collector surprised the coin collecting community with an 1870-S (San Francisco) half dime, believed to have been found in a dealer's box of cheap coins at a coin show. According to mint records for 1870, no half dimes had been minted in San Francisco; yet it was a genuine 1870-S half dime. At an auction later that same year, the 1870-S half dime sold for $425,000. It is believed that another example may exist—along with other denominations minted that year in San Francisco—in the cornerstone of the old San Francisco Mint. Later in July, 2004, one sold for $661,250 in MS-63 in a Stack`s-Bowers auction.