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Images courtesy of Heritage Numismatic
Auctions
Notes:
Only one example of the 1873-CC "NO Arrows" Dime is known to
exist. The April 2003 PCGS Population Report showed two examples: one in the VG-VF range, the other as MS-64. The MS-64 appears to
have been re-graded subsequently by NGC as MS-65 and no longer appears in
the PCGS Population Report.
Known examples (1):
NGC MS-65. Exhibited by H.O. Granberg at the American Numismatic
Society in 1914 - Wayte Raymond auction, May 1915, $170.00 - Rudolph
"Rud" Kohler - Waldo Newcomer - Charles M. Williams - purchased
as auction in 1950 for $3,650.00 by James Kelly and Sol Kaplan - sold to
Louis Eliasberg on November 7, 1950 for $4,000 (thus completing his
collection of U.S. coins) - B&M "Eliasberg" May 1996,
$550,00.00 Waldo Bolen - Heritage 1999, $632,500.00 - Jim Gray - B&M
07/2004, $891,250 - Rusty Goe - private collector.
Significant examples:
NGC MS-65 (illustrated above).
Ex: U.S. Mint Collection until 1909 when traded along with several crates
of patterns and other coins for two 1877 gold Half Unions in the
collection of Treasury Secretary, William Woodin - 1914 ANS Exhibit -
"Collection of a Prominent American" (Wayte Raymond, May 1915) - Rudolph
(Rud) Kohler Collection - Charles M. Williams Collection - sold as part of
the Adolphe Menjou Collection (Numismatic Gallery, June 15, 1950), where
it sold for $3,650 - James Kelly and Sol Kaplan - Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.
on November 7, 1950 as the last piece needed for his complete set of U.S.
coins - The Louis Eliasberg, Sr. Collection (Bowers and Merena, May,
1996), lot 1198, where it sold for $550,000 - Waldo Bolen - Heritage
Numismatic Auctions, Inc.'s "Central States Signature Sale", April 1999,
Lot 5928, as a PCGS MS-64 where it realized $632,500 - Heritage Numismatic
Auctions, Inc.'s Long Beach Signature Sale, October 2001, Lot 5988, where
it was described as follows: "1873-CC 10C No Arrows MS65 NGC. Ex:
Eliasberg. Unique. Formerly offered as lot 5928 in our April 1999 Central
States Signature Sale, where it was cataloged as: "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!"
"The No Arrows '73-CC was apparently a part of this momentous trade and
Woodin was the first owner of record of this important rarity. The coin
was exhibited at the 1914 ANS Exhibit in the Spring of that year, and over
the next several decades passed through the collections of several noted
collectors. Charles Williams owned the coin and consigned it along with
several other notable rarities (including a Class I 1804 Dollar) to the
auction of Adolph Menjou's collection. Kosoff (who cataloged the sale)
knew the coin was rare, but did not have a full appreciation of its true
status as a unique item. Apparently dealer James Kelly had a more complete
appreciation of its rarity, as did Louis Eliasberg. Both men wanted the
coin and both were prepared to pay top dollar to buy it at the Menjou
Sale. Eliasberg had flown in from Baltimore specifically to buy two coins:
the 1853-O No Arrows Half Dollar and the 1873-CC No Arrows Dime. The Half
Dollar he purchased for $890, but when it came time to sell the Dime the
competition was much stronger. Years later Kosoff wrote that Jim Kelly
"had hypnotized himself into a state of conviction that here was a coin
that was worth any price. Opening at $1,100 Eliasberg stayed in the
bidding until he was convinced that Kelly had no limit, and he allowed
Kelly to purchase the piece for $3,650. Several weeks later, on November
7, Kelly and Sol Kaplan sold the Dime to Eliasberg as the final piece
needed in his complete set of U.S. coinage.
"The coin remained in the Eliasberg Collection until sold by Bowers in
May, 1996 for $550,000. The buyer from the Eliasberg Sale was noted
collector Waldo Bolen. Bolen had already spent years assembling a
collection of Dimes--a complete set of every Dime produced by the U.S.
Mint, except for the unique 1873-CC No Arrows. He then sold his Dimes at
auction. When the 1873-CC finally came on the market, he purchased it,
just for the pleasure of knowing that he had owned every U.S. Dime. Bolen
became so enamored of the issue that he decided to build a complete
11-piece 1873-CC set around the linchpin No Arrows Dime.
"The coin itself is sharply struck. Its satiny luster is slightly subdued
and both sides are draped in an even layering of golden-brown patina. Die
polishing lines are noted on the figure of Liberty, and a die crack runs
prominently through the mintmark, this same reverse die also being used to
strike the 1873-CC With Arrows Dimes as well as the 1874-CC pieces. The
only abrasions of consequence are a pair of marks in the lower reverse
field below the M in DIME.
"In our 23 years in the auction business we cannot think of another, more
prestigious coin that has passed through our hands. Added to the obvious
importance of the coin's unique stature is the allure of the Carson City
mintmark, with coins from this Mint being among the most romantic,
storied, and highly collected in all of U.S. numismatics."
A second specimen appeared,
without fanfare, in the December 2002 PCGS Population Report in the VG/VF
range. The existence of the coin was confirmed by Michael Sherman of
PCGS.
Sources and/or
recommended reading:
"The PCGS Population Report, April 2003" by The
Professional Coin Grading Service
"The NGC Census Report,
October 2004" by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation
"1873-CC No Arrows Dime
Discovery" by Rusty Goe, E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 24, June
15, 2003
"Unique 1873-CC dime
sells" by William T. Gibbs, COIN WORLD, pages 3 and 80
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