John Feigenbaum of Coin Dealer Newsletter writes:

Ginger Rapsus writes:

Joel Orosz of Kalamazoo, MI writes:

Local and national coin experts have raised questions about the rare coin featured in a story published in the Sept. 17 Journal about a local man who claimed to have sold a dime for $2.4million.

The story detailed the 64-year-old Black Hills man's assertions that his father had given him the 1894-S Barber dime, among the rarest U.S. coins in existence, when he was a young man. Heclaimed to have re-discovered the dime in August, at which time he said he posted it for sale on a website favored by numismatists, and subsequently sold it to a Florida buyer.

The story quickly caught the attention of local and national numismatists, who questioned the local man's account, and stated that they find it unlikely the coin he sold was one of [the] raredimes, and instead believe the coin may be a replica worth less than $30.

"Coin World (magazine) became aware of the original article after subscribers began emailing links to the article to us," William T. Gibbs, managing editor of the numismaticpublication, told the Journal in an email this week. "The article was also highlighted in the Sept. 17 edition of the 'E-Sylum' e-newsletter, published by the Numismatic BibliomaniaSociety, and it became the subject of a discussion at an online forum sponsored by one of the coin hobby's major grading and authentication services.

"The discovery was met with widespread skepticism, in part because the coin illustrated with the article appears to be a modern reproduction and not an original item," Gibbs continued. "Suchreplicas can be purchased from the private mints that strike them for less than $30."

However, the coin in the photo that accompanied the article was not purported to be the actual dime that was sold. And yet, because only 24 of the rare dimes were ever struck by the San FranciscoMint, and only nine are known to still exist, Gibbs said if another 1894-S dime were to be discovered, it would be a significant find deserving major coverage in the hobby's news publications.

"However, the numismatic community traditionally remains cautious about such discoveries until recognized experts have examined the coin, compared its diagnostics with other known pieces, andpublicly declared it genuine," he wrote. "At the current time, no one in the numismatic community has come forward to announce such a discovery."

Repeated attempts by the Journal to contact the Black Hills man - who told the newspaper he signed a confidentiality agreement with the buyer of the coin - for comment and further substantiationof his claims were unsuccessful.

To read the thread on the PCGS Collectors Forum, see:
1894-S dime in Coin World slab sells for $2.4 million (https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/11803637)

To see an ebay listing referenced by one of the participants: barber s 1894 one dime coin(http://www.ebay.com/itm/barber-s-1894-one-dime-coin-/322644163269)

To read the complete article, see Numismatists questionrare dime story (http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/numismatists-question-rare-dime-story/article_dc5d6a9c-3f5d-5aba-8de4-282066751423.html)

To read the Coin world article, see: Numismatic community voices skepticism over1894-S dime article (http://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2017/09/skepticism-over-1894-s-dime-article.all.html#)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ARTICLE REPORTS 1894-S DIME DISCOVERY (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n38a15.html)