That coin with that price tag on ebay is quickly making that variety known to everyone. There is talk of it becoming a C.P.G variety. Until then this is putting the coin in the public eye. He doesn't want to sell it. He is trying to make it known. Say what you will but, now you and many others have a cool new variety to search.
OP, can you get a more zoomed pic? The light is playing off that 5 and it almost looks more like a recessed area and not raised. If the Edited: language on ebay gets a couple grand, you got yourself a months worth of rent there. His whole page there on ebay is weird..."I am Dime master. I and only I have 6 of these magical dimes. Put all 6 together in your pocket and a worm hole will open taking you to the land of Roosevelt where I am ruler of all small old defective round objects in your pants"
This was discussed three years ago on a Coin Community thread. The coin also apparently was on eBay at that time. https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=235803
It looks like the "5" from that 5 gum. The whole thing doesnt seem right. Too many of the experienced guys here can't explain it. It will be fun to see how it shakes out. Maybe I can create a coin and play it on ebay. Hes marketing it.
I wonder if I should start selling "New Coin Variety Production Kits" on eBay -- a couple of dental probes, a small hammer, and a half-round file. "Tired of searching your change with a microscope, looking for the latest random ding or gouge featured on YouTube? Now you can MAKE YOUR OWN VARIETY! Strike it Rich!"
There’s also a YouTube video and an Internet article about this coin. The source for the Internet article is the YouTube video.
They don't need to make up and create new errors. If this is a real thing, OK. But so what? An image of a 5 on the cheek of an SMS 1966 Rosie? I'd pay a dollar at most.
Then Wexler has officially lost his stinkin’ mind. I already thought he was flirting with it. This is over the edge.
I typed up a reply and erased it at least twice, but you've captured the main point. Speaking strictly hypothetically, what are collectors supposed to do if The Final Authority in a particular subspecialty starts to show signs of losing it? (I do mean "hypothetically" -- this isn't the first time I've gotten the impression that the line between variety attribution and pareidolia is flat-out non-existent, but it's not for me to decide. If there are multiple coins with the same feature, no matter how random or trivial, I guess it's fair game to attribute it.)
Guess it's not that much different than the 1952 'super bird' proof Washington quarter if multiple coins have been found. But I'd still like to see proof of additional coins and slabbed ones recognizing it as a variety. And while it's a neat curiosity I think if someone pays anywhere near that asking price they'll live to regret it. But I think the same way for most things that get labeled as errors or varieties these days where you need an electron microscope just to see what the error is and don't understand the excitement but to each their own I guess.
Well, I don’t consider Wexler much of an authority. AFAIK, neither PCGS nor NGC does Wexler attributions. Show me a Fivaz-Stanton number. PCGS regularly delists even some F-V numbers. So much of this variety garbage is bogus.
What percentage of 1966 SMS dimes have even been checked for this “5-shaped piece of debris”? About one tenth of one percent? I bet that’s a very high estimate. This is an example of ONE PERSON trying to force feed a market for a coin that only he owns, except for maybe 1 or 2, for which he has deemed HIMSELF the atrributor. It’s a complete scam. Read the detailed item description on the eBay listing. He’s LOBBYING!