1895 Barber Dime. MS-67 (PCGS). CAC.This dreamy Superb Gem is richly and originally toned in a base of pearl gray patina. The peripheries are further enhanced with vivid cobalt blue and antique gold iridescence that provides outstanding eye appeal. Fully struck and highly lustrous, this virtually pristine example would serve as a highlight in the finest collection of Barber coinage.<p>With a mintage of a mere 690,000 pieces, the 1895 Barber dime is the only issue produced at the Philadelphia Mint with a production figure below 1 million coins, making it one of the most desirable issues of the entire series. Coming on the heels of a major economic panic just two years prior, the 1895 issue slipped quietly into circulation with little fanfare. The numismatists of the era were content to order a Proof example of the issue and largely ignored the coins that did enter circulation. By the time interest in the Barber series began to pick up, by far the vast majority of examples that remained had seen extensive use in trade, so much so that even coins at the very lowest levels of preservation can prove challenging to locate, a situation no doubt exacerbated by the mass silver meltings in the early 1980s. Fortunately, a small number of uncirculated examples have managed to escape the rigors of commercial use, but even then primarily at the lower to middle Mint State levels. While perhaps a couple hundred uncirculated examples may survive, PCGS suggests that only 60 or so coins may still exist at or above the Gem level, with the lions share clustered around MS-65 level. The beautiful toning combined with the exceptional strike and surface preservation confirms the conditionally rare nature of the present offering.
