1907-D 10C MS68 NGC....

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Incredible 1907-D Barber Dime, MS68

1907-D 10C MS68 NGC. The Denver Mint, producer of more than half of U.S. circulating coinage today, traces its lineage back to the private mint of Clark, Gruber & Co. The most respected and successful of the Territorial mints that served the Colorado Gold Rush, the firm produced quarter eagles, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles in 1860 and 1861. Despite their efforts, however, Clark, Gruber & Co. were unable to keep pace with the burgeoning population of Colorado. On the eve of the Civil War, the Colorado Territory boasted a population of 25,000 to 30,000 inhabitants, with hundreds more arriving each day. Many were miners, and the existing supply of private coinage was woefully inadequate to prevent them from resorting to gold dust as a medium of exchange. Armed with such facts, the Colorado Territorial Convention of the Republican Party met on July 2, 1861 and drafted a resolution calling for a federal mint in Denver to supersede activities of the local establishments. Amazingly, Clark, Gruber & Co. willingly admitted their shortcomings, supported the resolution, and even offered to sell their property to the federal government for the new mint. Despite rival claims for federal coinage facilities from Nevada (as benefactor of the Comstock Lode) and New York (as financial capital of the country), as well as the enormous wartime deficit, Congress passed the bill establishing a branch mint in Denver on April 21, 1862. After a year of the usual red tape and political jargon, on April 16, 1863, Uncle Sam purchased the Clark, Gruber & Co. building for the lofty sum of $25,000. After more than five months of extensive remodeling, the new mint was apparently ready to begin operations. For unknown reasons, however, Congress changed its mind at the last minute and opened the Denver facility merely as an assay office on September 24. It languished in this inglorious, although necessary role until early 1906, when Congress finally approved its operations as a full-fledged branch mint.
Among the early products of the Denver Mint, its silver coinage is well respected for its scarcity in the higher Mint State grades. A primary example of this is the 1907-D Barber dime issue. The present coin, a boldly impressed Superb Gem, is the finest certified survivor of the issue. Every last detail on both sides stands out in stark contrast to the impeccably smooth fields. The obverse exhibits mottled slate-gray patination across the center, deepening to variegated red, orange, yellow, gold, and blue about the borders. The reverse shows a blanket of ice-blue toning, with delicate highlights of rose and gold along the right rim. With blazing underlying frost and swirling cartwheel effect, this gorgeous piece is a fitting monument to the rich history of the Denver Mint. This is the only example to attain an MS68 grade designation from either NGC or PCGS, with none finer (2/09).
Ex: Heritage (8/1999), lot 6871; Heritage (4/2006), lot 438.
From The Joseph C. Thomas Collection.(Registry values: N10218)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 23F4, PCGS# 4843, GSID# 4378)

Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Weight: 2.49 grams
ASW: 0.07205oz
Mintage: 4,080,000

View all of [The Joseph C. Thomas Collection, Part One ]

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