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
I've had the little orphan annie on watch lists for a few years now. I agree, they are common coins -- I get a few hits every month.
At least one hoard of something like 746 pieces was offered for sale within the past year or so but didn't meet the reserve and wasn't sold. The 44 is just an overhyped scarce issue, and th hype pushes up the price. It is much more available than the 46
Ed: Excellent comments, I agree with every point. I have searched for the 1846 for ages, still waiting for a nice piece. Congrats on the purchase.
Richie, here is some background to this dime, taken from a net source (Numismatic News) Quote" Why are the 1844 Seated Liberty dimes scarce, especially in higher grades? According to some, they were lost in the Great Chicago Fire. Others claimed it was bandits who made off with the coins, buried them, and then went to their graves not revealing the true location of the loot. It's amazing how many times throughout U.S. coinage history wild theories like these have been used to explain the scarcity of a coin. The 1844, known to collectors as the "Orphan Annie" dime (for having lost its mates), is replete with these colorful tall tales. The main story was one of war and lost love and went something like this: Needing money to pay the soldiers mustered for a military expedition into Mexico, the Army's paymaster requisitioned a large supply of small change for the soldiers to use, which happened to be 1844-dated dimes. Once in Mexico's capital, the soldiers became homesick and longed for female companionship. It was then that a clever one of their number came upon a plan to attract the local senoritas. Noticing they liked to wear fancy bangles, he fashioned some bracelets using the 1844 dimes. It worked. A booming enterprise followed, as others in his company stumbled over each other, lining up to buy the bracelets. Not a single 1844 dime escaped the love-starved rush. When the soldiers came home, the bracelets stayed behind. The soldiers were soon forgotten, the bracelets melted, and the silver was minted into Mexican coins. The lost love story is just one of many theories advanced over the years to explain why, of an original mintage of 72,500 coins, fewer than might be expected survived. Other tantalizing tales were: The coins were improperly alloyed, so most of the mintage was melted by the U.S. Mint. The entire issue had been bought up by a speculator, few survived. A bank in New Orleans requisitioned Washington for $5,000 in dimes. Fifty thousand were shipped by boat, but lost in a storm. The coins were lost in the Great Chicago Fire. The dimes gravitated to Pennsylvania and were swept away in the Great Johnstown Flood. Seventy thousand of the coins were sent overland to the forty-niners in California via the Santa Fee Trail. Along the way, the coins were seized by bandits who hid the loot. The bandits were later killed, taking knowledge of the secret hiding place with them for eternity to their graves. I like the last of these best. However, I leave it to others to go digging. Besides, for about $550, you can get one for your collection in Fine-12 from a dealer, without all of the work. You can read more about the "Orphan Annie" dime in story by Tom LaMarre in the September issue of Coins magazine. End of Quote
I looked in the book, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Dimes, by Brian Greer. He only says: "For years this date was overpriced because of promotional efforts of the late Frank C. Ross, a writer from Kansas City. He nicknamed it the "Little Orphan Annie" dime. In recent years prices adjusted to its rarity but prices are once again escalating due to heavy demand. Comes with nice problem free surfaces more than any other dates of this era." The Greer book was published in 1992. That doesn't tell much. Why did "Frank C. Ross" promote it? Maybe he had a hoard of 1844s and wanted to drive up the price? If someone researches "Frank C. Ross" maybe more can be found out.
Well in this case it was me mis-copying from the book... "...nice problem free surfaces." Fixed it in the above post.
