is a classic scarce coin, but it seems to appear in price lists and auction lists a lot more often than the 1846. Is the 1846 really a lot more scarce? My budget being somewhat limited, I buy scarce coins rather than rare coins, thus my interest in relative degrees of availability.
In my opinion the 1846 actually is far more scarce . The 1844 had a mintage of 72,00 or so and the 1846 roughly half that figure. In that era , Frank C. Ross hoarded the 1844 Dimes and hyped the issue as being very rare/scarce. The 1846 is far more difficult to locate in " all grades" than is the 1844, which is scarce in Mint State survivors, but more likely to be found more readily in the lower grades. For my money, I'd add the nicest 1846 I could afford, before spending a dime on an 1844. Do some research and try to establish some history as to how frequent these two coins come to auction. I'll bet money, marbles & chalk the 1846 is by far less frequently available in any grade.
As mentioned the 1844 was hyped long ago and was hoarded. With so many off the market in hoards it made it appear scarcer than it really was. But a couple years ago one of the hoards came out on the market on eBay. Foolish seller tried to sell them all as one lot. There were over 600 pieces in the hoard. And this was just one hoard. I seriously doubt ANYONE has 600 pieces of the 1846.
As you guys have pointed out, the 1846 10C is FAR scarcer than the dime of 1844. As a matter of fact there are 24 1844's available in Ebay right now, and NO 1846's. You can hardly call that a scarce date. Just a heavily hyped date, and heavely hoarded as well - nice stories to account for its supposed scarcity abound (Little Orphan Annie) for example. Heritage has been trying to disperse a hoard of approx. 650 examples of the 1844 for about a year now. I would not be surprised if in excess of 1000-1300 specimens exist. The price guides do not reflect this reality at all, at least until the very high grades > AU50. This is surprising. So the choice is clear: if you are looking for the scarcer of the two, definitely the 1846. In fact, the 1846 10C is supposed to rank high among the top 25-30 scarcest seated liberty dates (10C, 25C and 50C included).
Definitely, I had to pay over retail for this F15 at Heritage. However, the point is that the price differential v.s the 1844 does not reflect the fact the 1846 is by FAR the scarcer of the two.
I agree completely. So, in that respect the prices that are asked and paid for the 1846 is a bargain for a honest to god rarity and extremely scarce issue.
Some good places to check out for Seated dimes are: http://www.seateddimevarieties.com http://seateddimes.yuku.com/directory
