| Dimes of 1844 and 1846
I don't know if any of you collect dimes of the 1840's? Well, the 1844 Dime ("Orphan Annie" Dime) is one that i had been chasing for a long time.
My interest was piqued partly by all the stories surrounding this coin, which supposedly account for its scarcity. You know, all the stories about much of the mintage being buried in the desert by robbers, or given as pay to US troops invading Mexico in the 1840's, etc...
So, I saw an 1844 in Ebay about 3 months ago, bid and won it - ANACS F12 - and was really excited and impatient to receive it. Except, the seller never sent it (first time i have ever been the victim of Fraud in 8 years of Ebaying). I was quite upset needless to say.
Well, after this episode, my attention turned to the other scarce dime of the 1840's - the 1846. I did some research on the 1846 and found that it is actually scarcer than the 1844,
and it is considered by one writer to be among the top 25 scarcest seated bust coinage
of the 1840-1850 period. It has about 1/2 half the mintage of the 1844, but the coin has not been as hyped, and the prices reflect it. In fact, i read that a few years ago somebody had managed to hoard as many as 600 samples of the 1844. At any given time there is at least one 1844 in Ebay. 1846's appear much more seldom. The 1844 does not appear to be scarce at all. It seems to be readily available. Most online coin stores also have at least one. Dick Osburn has 6 or 8 right now.
With this background, i decided to try find an 1846. (As consolation so to speak after the issue i had with the 1844 from Ebay). The recent Heritage sale had an example of the 1846 (ICG F15) which i decided to bid on, and won.
It would be interesting to hear your comments with regard to the 1844 dime. Do you concur with the opinion that it is really not a scarce coin?
Regards,
Ed
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