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Article by:

John Wang
Mint Error News Consultant

Features

Lincoln Dime Mule Census

Lincoln Dime Mules are fascinating coins struck with a Lincoln Cent obverse by Victor David Brenner combined with a Roosevelt Dime reverse by John Ray Sinnock. These are particularly eye appealing and generally it appears that the smaller dime size die does not have any cupping effect on the struck coin.

Five of these coins have sold with the following notes:

1. All five are relatively modern, being struck between 1993 and 2001, but with none in the last 20 years.

2. All five specimens have been offered by Heritage Auctions, each only once.

3. The highest price realized is $138,000 for the 1999 PR66RD in 2006.

4. One was struck on a clad dime planchet while the others were struck on copper-plated zinc planchets.

5. Two were struck in Philadelphia while 3 were struck in Denver.

6. Three coins have known pedigrees, with two collected by Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr., a notable Lincoln cent collector who owned a 1943-S bronze cent, and one in the Bellaire collection.

Given there are five of these now, they command attention and while attaining any one would be an exciting achievement, collecting the set could be a lifetime achievement.

Census List of Lincoln Dime Mules

1. 1995 Lincoln Dime mule on dime planchet; Pedigree: Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr.; Grade: NGC MS64 (1615815-001); Sale: $57,500 Heritage Auctions (January 7, 2010)

2. 1993-D Lincoln Dime mule on cent planchet Pedigree: Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr.; Grade: PCGS MS65RD (50051509); Sale: $51,750 Heritage Auctions (January 7, 2010)

3. 1999 Lincoln Dime mule on cent planchet; Pedigree: Bellaire Collection; Grade: PCGS MS66RD (5764796); Sale: $138,000 Heritage Auctions (April 29, 2006)

4. 2001-D Lincoln Dime mule on cent planchet; Grade: PCGS MS66RD (41520315); Sale: $114,000 Heritage Auctions (June 17, 2021)

5. 2001-D Lincoln Dime mule on cent planchet; Grade: PCGS MS65RD (43726720); Sale: $78,000 Heritage Auctions (February 24, 2022)


Discussion


Classification

An interesting thing about these errors is that the denomination determined by the error community is based on the planchet used, so that even though the same die pair could be used on different planchets, the denomination would be by the planchet not the dies. The situation means that the Lincoln Dime Mule on a dime planchet is considered a dime and the Lincoln Dime Mule on a cent planchet is considered a cent.

Pedigree / Provenance

Out of the 5 coins, two coins are pedigreed to the Alfred V. Melson Collection by Heritage Auctions while one is pedigreed to the Bellaire Collection. "Alfred V. Melson" was matched with "Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr." and used in this article. The following was used to match the names:

1. An exhaustive search online, including auction sites, coin sites, ancestry sites, obituaries, grave sites, and message forums indicates that the name "Alfred V. Melson" only appears in a father-son pair named Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr. and Alfred Vaughn Melson Jr.

2. Fred Weinberg indicated he sold coins to Alfred V. Melson 20-25 years ago and the PCGS slabs with the "Alfred V. Melson Coll." pedigree were requested by the son for the pedigree line.

3. Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr. passed away in 2003, which fits the timeline of when his collection was sold in 2010, allowing time for his son to request the "Alfred V. Melson Coll." pedigree for some of the coins.


The Coins

1. 1995 Lincoln Dime mule on dime planchet

Pedigree: Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr. (1942-2003)
Grade: NGC MS64 (1615815-001)
Sale: $57,500 Heritage Auctions (January 7, 2010)


slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.



2. 1993-D Lincoln Dime mule on cent planchet

Pedigree: Alfred Vaughn Melson Sr. (1942-2003)
Grade: PCGS MS65RD (50051509)
Sale: $51,750 Heritage Auctions (January 7, 2010)


slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.



3. 1999 Lincoln Dime on cent planchet

Pedigree: Bellaire Collection
Grade: PCGS MS66RD (5764796)
Sale: $138,000 Heritage Auctions (April 29, 2006)


slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.



4. 2001-D Lincoln Dime on cent planchet

Grade: PCGS MS66RD (41520315)
Sale: $114,000 Heritage Auctions (June 17, 2021)


slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Collectors Universe.

slab
Photo courtesy of Collectors Universe.



5. 2001-D Lincoln Dime on cent planchet

Grade: PCGS MS65RD (43726720)
Sale: $78,000 Heritage Auctions (February 24, 2022)


slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

slab
Photo courtesy of Collectors Universe.

slab
Photo courtesy of Collectors Universe.





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