the lost 5000 silver barber dimes

galenrog

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Feb 19, 2006
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Do a internet search using various search terms for what you want. You should soon find something. It took me under two minutes to find references to several caches, robberies, and other lost treasure stories involving barber dimes. Since you left out any specifics that would be helpful in determining which tales are of interest to you, I will leave you to sift through the fluff.
 

blindbug

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Hello, could someone tell me the exact location and depth to which a treasure of considerable value is buried? Preferably a treasure that is very close to where I live so that I may get to the location with less use of gasoline? Preferably, could you lend me a shovel and a treasure map that details the exact spot at which I should dig? If you have such information, please forward it to me so that I may retrieve my treasure at my leisure. Thank you.

I hate to mock, but come on. :laughing7:
 

jeff of pa

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the Story:

A wagon train left Denver in 1907 carrying six large barrels filled with newly-minted "Barber"� dimes, nicknamed after Charles Barber, the designer of the coin. The dimes were being delivered to Phoenix, Arizona, some 900 miles away, but the shipment never arrived. One theory is that the wagon train was attacked by bandits and, despite their armed escort, were unable to fend off the attack. Others believe the party might have plummeted hundreds of feet to the bottom of Colorado's Black Canyon while navigating the treacherous mountain trails. All that can be said for sure is that neither the coins, nor the men carrying them, were ever seen again.

Odd though it never hit the Newspapers that I can find.

other problems six large barrels for 5000 Dimes ?

only dimes in the shipment ?

Coming from the Denver mint, I would expect there to be Pennies, Nickles, Quarters,
Halves & Morgan Dollars also. maybe a Barrel for each.
why does the story only mention the dimes ?
because they are rare ?

Search Results « Chronicling America « Library of Congress
 

Last edited:
OP
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spinnergun

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maybe the shipment was lost along the way in arizona in the cliffs of arizona maybe
 

JamesFariello

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I Am checking with the US Mint on the records of this story to see if they have any. Here is what I have learned from them for now. ...........


  • [*=center]Conversation started August 8

  • -PAXP-deijE.gif
    8/8, 8:15pm

    James FarielloI have a question about the mint history. Can you please let me know if this story is true and a shipment of 1907-D dimes was lost in colorado on the western slope. Here is the story.
    1907-D Dimes ……In spite of a mintage in excess of 4 million pieces, this issue is very difficult to locate in AU and Mint State grades. According to one account, a wagonload of 1907 dimes (and quarters) leaving the Denver Mint were lost along the North Rim Black Canyon, Colorado, near Gunnison, and never recovered.North Rim RoadThe North Rim is reached by taking a gravel road from the east end of Crawford State Park. The North Rim Road provides access to 6 overlooks. The canyon walls on the North Rim are almost vertical, offering some of the most impressive views found in the national park.For a long time, no one knew what happened to a wagon train that left the Denver mint headed to Phoenix, Arizona. It was loaded with between four and six kegs of new dimes and was placed on four different wagons. The wagons along with the drivers and everyone else disappeared somewhere between a Crawford ranch and Montrose.
    Quite a few years later, some treasure seekers were out along the trail and found the remains of four wagons at the rim of a canyon. The side wash of the trail fell off into the river ravine below. They did find several gallons of dimes along the Gunnison River close to the north rim of Black Canyon, however, that was just a drop in the bucket of the dimes that were left behind. Today, there is still a treasure of dimes to find, if someone is daring enough to hunt.
    I look forward to a reply. Interesting story.










    [*=center]August 16

  • 8/16, 1:52pm

    United States MintHi James,
    We are checking the validity of the story and hope to get back to you soon.
    Thanks










    [*=center]Wednesday

  • -PAXP-deijE.gif
    8/24, 5:46pm

    James FarielloHow is the research going? We await te results.










    [*=center]Today

  • 6:43am

    United States MintHi James, We are still researching and will get back to you as soon as we have an answer. Thank you.










  • -PAXP-deijE.gif
    7:59am

    James FarielloVery interesting story. I really look forward to your results.










  • 8:01am

    United States MintYes it is! Thank you for your patience!










  • -PAXP-deijE.gif
    8:01am

    James Fariello













  • -PAXP-deijE.gif
    8:04am

    James FarielloHere is another story of lost dimes in the 1880's. I wonder if this one is true too. The Mysterious 1844 Dime





    The Mysterious 1844 Dime
    numismaster.com












  • -PAXP-deijE.gif
    8:07am

    James FarielloAccording to one tale, during the great California Gold Rush the forty-niners asked government officials for small change, preferably dimes, which were desperately needed. Nearly the entire mintage of 1844 dimes was supposedly shipped by train to St. Louis, and from there to Westport landing in Kansas City. Then the dimes were transferred to a covered wagon to continue their journey to California.
    The story did not end there. Indians were said to have attacked the wagon with its cargo of dimes on the Overland Route, killing the white men, burning the wagon and burying the dimes for safe keeping. Soon after that the Indians themselves were killed, and with them went the secret of the dimes' hiding place. "For over a century now, the dimes have remained 'coins in hiding,'" Harry Bosley wrote in The Numismatist in the 1940s.
    However, there were other stories about the fate of the 1844 dimes. One was that most of them were lost at sea. A New Orleans bank supposedly requested $5,000 in dimes from Washington. But the ship was lost in a storm and the 50,000 1844 dimes went to the bottom of the ocean.










  • -PAXP-deijE.gif
    8:09am

    James FarielloYour history is real cool and if stories like this are true I will be writing some articles on them for a magazine but I need to verify the stories.










  • 9:44am

    United States MintHi James,
    We checked with our Historian about the validity of the story. Her response is below.
    Unfortunately, we don’t have these records at Mint Headquarters. Agency records are retired to the National Archives through their designated Regional Branches based on the location of the Mint facility.
    Surviving records of the Denver Mint from that time period were retired to NARA’s Regional Branch in Colorado under Record Group 104 some time ago. Since those records are now the property of NARA they’ll have to be contacted directly regarding the location and access to the surviving files. See: Rocky Mountain Region
    Also, as the events did not take place on official Mint property, I can’t guarantee how much documentation will be found in Mint records vs. the records of local communities, newspapers, historical societies, etc., and suggest that the person expand their search beyond federal records. They may want to start with the Library of Congress newspaper website, Chronicling America, to search for clues: Chronicling America « Library of Congress
    We hope this help.
    Thank you




    [url]www.archives.gov
    archives.gov


    [/URL]





 

jeff of pa

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lol I've Searched Library of Congress newspaper website, Chronicling America several times with different
Keywords & Nothing :(
 

cudamark

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I have a lot of problems with the story too. 5000 dimes is only 100 rolls. You could carry that in a saddle bag, you wouldn't need one wagon, let alone 4. Even if you add a similar load of quarters and halves, barely one wagon would be needed. Denver didn't mint cents, nickels, or dollars that year, so, if these were "freshly" minted coins, those three denomination would be all they were carrying. I could see one wagon being lost over the edge of the canyon, but, all 4? Without a trace of wagons, horses, or drivers? Sounds a bit far fetched to me. The coins were probably stolen. Also, losing 5000 dimes out of over 4 million produced wouldn't have any effect on rarity.
 

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