Is This An Arnprior?

The "true" Arnprior dollar was only made in 1955 for a small company in Arnprior (Playtex) by the Mint..... a small number, about 2500 or so. They were supposedly all struck using a single pair of dies left over from the regular mint year's production and those all (supposedly) have a small D/C between the T & I of Gratia. That pair of dies had been overpolished and the polishing had removed part of the 4 waterlines that are normally there (the design is actually 3 waterlines and a line for the horizon, according to Charlton). Almost as soon as those were made, a few collectors noticed the difference and it was published, with the "Arnprior" type commanding a premium. Die polishing had been going on with the dies for this design since 1950 and collectors noticed that many of the 1950-55 dates also had less than the "normal" waterlines (or none at all). Since the late 50's collectors and dealers have referred to almost any date dollar from that period that did not have the "normal" number (or length) of waterlines to be an "Arnprior or Arnprior-type". The term has been applied somewhat randomly across the board, causing much confusion, but in recent years the terms short waterline or no waterline has been added. Zoell was using the term "short waterlines in the mid-1960's. Charlton has attempted to clarify the situation some by their photos during the last 5 years of the different classifications for those 1950's dates, but I think that it has clouded the issue because there seem to be varying degrees of what is missing, what is there and what it's called. It's a matter of semantics about what they are called for each. .. it's 50+ years of people applying the wrong name to a variety that was only applicable for one year in a small batch. The Arnprior type coins were never made on purpose, but are just the result of overpolishing the dies. In my mind, it doesn't even desrve to be called a variety .. it's more of an error but, once any coin guide publishes a coin that deserves (or has deserved) a premium, you can't shut the faucet off. Charlton is not the only source for information on these and it's certainly not the "bible". If you go to the CCRS site, there is a wonderful link directing you elsewhere where you can read all you want on the subject (and other background about any Canadian dollar) toward the end of the Arnprior thread. Haxby also has a pretty fair write-up.

Thanks R2, great information. Have been doing some reading and learning.

Is the dollar above an Arnprior then? It looks like it is to me but I would like some confirmation from some with more knowledge than I.

Thanks DBM, you say 1 1/2 water lines yet when I look at it I see 2 1/2 water lines. Is the top line part of the island or the horizon? The 1 1/2 lines you refer to are the bottom (short line) and the longer one above? I'm a little dense.

According to the link that I put in above, the top line is the horizon.