This dime could sell for more than $1 million: How to tell if yours is worth the same

(NEXSTAR) – That dime collecting dust in your piggy bank or stuck in your couch may only be worth 10 cents, but one of its ancestors could fetch more than $1 million at auction next month.

Outside of their value at mintage, the dimes in your cupholder and the dime in question likely have very little in common.

Stack’s Bowers says the dime has an estimated value of $1.5 million – 15 million times more than its face value.

The dime, minted in San Francisco more than 130 years ago, is part of the Barber series. Fondly named after the engraver who designed them, Charles E. Barber, these dimes were produced starting in the 1890s . While dimes with Barber’s design have sold for hundreds of dollars, according to Numismatic News , those struck in San Francisco in 1894 are especially sought after.

There are only nine known surviving examples of the 1894 dimes, including the example that will be available as part of Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Rarities Night.

That’s because records show only 24 were made in the Bay Area. Three were assayed, or tested, meaning just 21 survived. It’s unclear what happened to the remaining 12.

One of the surviving dimes sold for $2.16 million last year, Heritage Auction’s records show. It previously sold for nearly $1.998 million in 2016. Another Barber dime sold in 2020 for $1.5 million , according to the company’s website. The same coin went for $1.035 million in 2005.

The opening bid for the dime is $1 million, and online bidding on the Stack’s Bowers website starts on September 1.

Few other dimes have sold for such an eye-popping price.

Auction records from Heritage Auctions show a dime minted in 1873 sold in 2023 for $3.6 million . This dime was part of a group assigned to be melted as part of the Coinage Act of 1873 and is believed to be the “sole survivor” of its time.

Dimes – or “dismes,” as they were referred to at the time – produced in 1792 are also highly sought after. There are just three known to exist to collectors, Heritage Auction explains, with the “finest-known example” selling for nearly $999,000 in 2016.

It can be difficult to tell if your dime is worth the usual 10 cents, enough to cover your next car wash, or even to buy a car.

“Odd items are always set aside but that doesn’t make them rare or terribly valuable,” Dustin Johnson, vice president of numismatics at Heritage Auctions, previously told Nexstar .

It’s best to consult with an expert if you believe you have a valuable dime, coin, or other item.