Seated Saturday: 1873-CC Seated Liberty Dime Without Arrows

1873-CC No Arrows MS 64 PCGS. Ex: Eliasberg. Unique. This is the only example known of the 1873-CC dime with no arrows on either side of the date. The exact circumstances surrounding the production of this issue are unknown, but mint records indicate that 12,400 pieces were struck. Presumably all were melted and converted to Arrows dimes with the exception of a few saved for assay purposes. The theory is that this single coin was saved from the destructive testing done by the Assay Commission. Probably one of the assay members was able to trade it for face value at the time by merely exchanging another dime for it. It was apparently kept in the Mint collection for several decades where it was well preserved, not appearing again for 36 years.



In 1909, Philadelphia dealers John Haseltine and Stephen Nagy sold a pair of 1877 gold half union patterns for the unprecedented price of $10,000 each. The buyer was future Secretary of the Treasury, William Woodin. A short paragraph from the Bower's Eliasberg catalog describes what happened next: "A furor arose, and it was said that the pair of $50 gold patterns never should have left the Mint. The two pieces were returned to the Mint by exchange, in which "several crates" of coins--thousands totally, primarily patterns, but possibly including some other issues as well--were given to Haseltine and Nagy by Mint officials. What a treasure trove this was!"

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