"Orphan Annie"

Michellets

Sr. Member
Nov 12, 2006
273
51
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX, Ace 250 Big and Small coils, AT-Pro
"Orphan Annie"

About a week ago my detector fritzed out...I had an Ace 250, but never purchased a coil cover for it. The coils were worn and cracked, and I tried in vain to fix them, but no luck. I finally bit the bullet, and ended up getting another Ace 250 with two coils, and the coil covers were thrown into the deal this time. Now, every time I swing that coil and scrape, or bump something I can grin, and keep smiling. I like the Ace, and dig most every signal with it. I went out for the first time yesterday with the new detector, and a good friend of mine. The weather was cool and sunny. After several hours of fruitless searching I hit on a dime signal. I didn't think much about it, but realized the value of being careful with a shovel. Another mentor of mine had taught me well! I found this at about 6 inches in very nice soil.....I didn't wipe it, and carefully wrapped it up in tissue, put it in the finger of a glove, and moved on. Later at home we washed it very carefully, and I brought out the red book. What a surprise! I wonder if I'll ever top it. The amazing thing.... I guess it's the first coin I found with the new detector and the only coin I found all day! HH


I added pictures after I put the dime in an ultrasonic cleaner with soap and water... no scrubbing, just the rinse after to take the soap off!
 

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Re: "Orphan Annie"

dieharddigger said:
That is one FINE dime! May I ask,what is an ultrasonic cleaner?
Steve

I'm a jeweler/artist, and an ultrasonic cleaner uses sound waves to remove debris from metal. It has a plastic basket that you set in a tank of soap and water, and then a timer switch. The one that I have is quite pricey. I don't recommend doing any cleaning on a coin unless you are certain of the outcome. Silver is nice, because it really doesn't corrode in the ground like copper/nickel, thus it's a lot easier to clean, and all you have to do is get the dirt off without scratching the surface...
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

For the record. here is a picture of the S.L. dimes section of the 2008 Red book. Look at the 1844 line. Awesome!!! Pays for the detector twice over...and the coil cover. ;D :wink: :o
 

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Re: "Orphan Annie"

I went back and looked at your pics. I still think it would fetch $1000, even if you wound up selling it on fleaBay (if you sold it at all).

We know I was looking at some wrong line, possibly on the wrong page even, when I came up with that $60 noise.
Being a page-bungler and non-expert, I still disagree most heartily with the "Fine" "$35" opinion.

As Grandpa said, "Don't eat that, Elmer, that's horse s---".
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Congrats on a beautiful coin. The seated are so nice to see. I thought that 1844 was quite old. What a great find!!
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Admiral de Salee said:
I went back and looked at your pics. I still think it would fetch $1000, even if you wound up selling it on fleaBay (if you sold it at all).

We know I was looking at some wrong line, possibly on the wrong page even, when I came up with that $60 noise.
Being a page-bungler and non-expert, I still disagree most heartily with the "Fine" "$35" opinion.

As Grandpa said, "Don't eat that, Elmer, that's horse s---".
:laughing7: :laughing7: :laughing7: :laughing7: :laughing7: That is hilarious! :tongue3: :thumbsup:
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Is that a purdy dime or what!? Congratulations!
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Outstanding find! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Wow, Thanks guys for the background info on this find, and the support! I had no idea. It seems that this find has a real history behind it and a lot of controversy in value and history. 72,000 were minted, but they say that 50,000 of the dimes were either lost at sea, stolen by indians, melted down by the army and turned into bracelets, or just disappeared. That really makes for a colorful history :thumbsup: I doubt I'll ever find another one. I haven't found any Barber dimes and only a few mercs this year and was hoping that sooner or later I would find one old (pre 1900's) silver coin. It's not pristine, but it's in better shape than I had hoped for. Should I have it slabbed?? Like I said earlier, it was the first one I found with the detector, and the only coin I found all day. What are chances? :icon_queen: HH
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

outstanding coin......have it slabbed?....absolutely....not only will it protect it and keep it in the same condition but it will help you if you ever do decide to sell
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

That guy was right about one thing: There is (to me) an unwarranted prejudice in the coin biz against dug coins. That is a spectacular coin. Some people on here who *are* experts (PBK comes to mind) have counseled people to have ANACS certify (and slab) a coin to avoid the stigma of NCGS grading it as "Environmental Damage"--even though I couldn't see any on it.

See what the big dogs here say.

If I find a coin anywhere *near* that caliber this season, I'll be fluffy for months..
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

What a fantastic coin and valuable to boot! :wav:
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Wow, what an incredibly rare find! Definetly AU from the photos and there's virtually no trace of it being dug. This NEEDS to be put on the banner, this is much better than my 1806 quarter or even an average gold $20!
And you dug it perfectly too! Congratulations!
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

WOW ! awesome dime Michellets :thumbsup:
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Yeah baby!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hello2: :headbang: :notworthy: :notworthy: Major congrats on making the banner. Well deserved indeed. :icon_sunny:
 

Re: "Orphan Annie"

Nice find... congrats ! :thumbsup:
 

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