Lot 1344
1942. 2 over 1. PCGS graded MS-66. Well struck and fully white. The bands are almost full. Aside from the formidable 1916-D, the 1942/1 is the best known key issue in this series. The overdate is much bolder than the similarly rare 1942/1-D Mercury Dime. This famous variety was struck sometime near the end of 1941. The Philadelphia Mint was rushing to gear up to make dies for the 1942 production run. (Over 300 million Dimes were struck in 1942, the highest mintages of the denomination to that date.) Two obverse dies for the Mercury dime were impressed first with a 1941-dated hub, and then with a 1942-dated hub. One of these stayed in Philadelphia and was used to strike an unknown number of 1942/1 dimes. The other went to the Denver Mint. In the March 1943 Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine there was published a discovery article about the overdate submitted by Arnold Kohn of Kingston, New York. Despite the brief interval before this error was discovered, and the dash by collectors to find them, few coins have come down to today's specialists in elevated levels of preservation such as this lovely MS66 example. According to Walter Breen, most Uncirculated examples of this variety are from four rolls discovered in 1954.
The present premium Gem has blazing luster and silvery color. Although not razor-sharp on the bands (few are), the strike is decidedly above average with very clear overdate 2/1, while the surfaces are nearly pristine. It is clearly a candidate for Mercury Dime with Varieties PCGS Registry Sets. Pop 2; none finer at PCGS (PCGS # 5036) .
Estimated Value $12,000 - 13,000.
The Dr. Charles Richman Collection.
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| Realized $20,700 |
