1894-O Barber Dime. MS-66 (PCGS). Secure Holder.An outstanding premium Gem to represent this leading condition rarity among New Orleans Mint Barber dimes. Both sides are beautifully toned with the most vivid colors reserved for the peripheries, especially on the obverse. The strike is as close to full as one could realistically hope to find in a survivor of this issue, and satiny mint luster is expectably smooth for the assigned grade.The 1894-O is a low mintage issue (720,000 pieces produced) that, like most New Orleans Mint Barber coins, suffered a high rate of attrition through circulation. It is the second rarest Barber dime from this mint in terms of total number of Mint State examples known, and it is actually the rarest in MS-65 and higher grades, surpassing even the more highly regarded 1895-O. (These rankings are per Jeff Ambio, <em>Collecting & Investing Strategies for Barber Dimes</em>, 2009.) A highlight of the present sale, and a coin that would do justice to the finest date and mint set.From the Fossil Creek Collection.
