“Sam Wolfson is a financier whose idea of rooting, you’d suspect, would be for such as the spectacular rally staged by tax-exempt municipal bonds during the last month.” — The Tuscaloosa News, December 22, 1957 An essentially flawless coin, this is the finest known example of the Small Date variety and the single finest 1814 dime certified by PCGS. The surfaces are fresh, frosty, and vibrant, with cartwheel spinning energetically around both sides. The toning is similarly spectacular, with a rosy gray central obverse confined by concentric circles of pastel blue and pale yellow that appear to merge into sea green in raking light. A splash of amber surrounds the top of Liberty’s cap and adheres to the nearby stars. The reverse is more sedate but no less beautiful, melding pale blue and green with champagne around a deep gray central device. The fields are immaculate, pristine even beyond the abilities of the magnification-aided human eye. A minuscule striation extends from the front of the eagle’s beak toward the base of P of PLURIBUS, so trivial that some scrutiny is required to determine if it is a striation or a tiny die crack. The dies have clashed twice, leaving a very shallow impression of the outline of the wing to the eagle’s right behind Liberty’s head. The clashing is more visible on the reverse, where two close impressions of Liberty’s cap are seen within the denomination, and the bust truncation is visible near, mostly below, the motto ribbon. The central design elements are all bold, including Liberty from the top of her cap to her lowest curls. Each star at left has its center, though stars 8 through 10 atop the right side of the obverse have progressively less central detail. The extreme peripheries of both sides are a bit soft, showing well outlined denticles that lack relief at the rim. This softness has produced a slight wire rim or fin on the right side of the obverse and left a visible burr, remaining from when the planchet was cut, outside of star 4 on the left side of the obverse. As described in Early United States Dimes 1796-1837, also known as the JR book, a bulge has affected the arrowheads and CA of AMERICA in the lower right quadrant of the reverse. With exquisite beauty that serves to enrich its technical excellence, this coin’s fine provenance completes a trifecta of numismatic desirability. Described as “Rare in this state” and graded “Uncirculated” in the 1904 John G. Mills sale, this dime was part of one of the finest cabinets of the late 19th century. Mills was 38 years old when the Chapman brothers sold his collection, rendering him “one of the younger collectors,” according to the catalog’s preface. The next owner of record assembled one of the great collections of the mid-20th century. Known to most as Sam, Samuel W. Wolfson, was a high profile businessman in Jacksonville, Florida, known nationwide for his leadership of the Gator Bowl in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Wolfson Park, demolished in 2002, was named to honor his role in bringing minor league baseball to Jacksonville. In 1953, the first year Wolfson owned the Jacksonville Braves, their MVP was a 19 year old second baseman named Henry Aaron, who finished with a .362 batting average in his last season before promotion to the major leagues. Off the market in the cabinet known as the Northern Bay Collection from 1963 through 2006, this dime has been offered publicly just once in the last 50 years. Over that time, no finer 1814 dime has surfaced anywhere. PCGS has never graded another 1814 Small Date dime finer than MS-65, and it has never certified an 1814 dime of any variety finer than this one. PCGS# 38773. NGC ID: 236W.