Does anyone here remember the cautionary tale of Scrooge McDuck’s 1916 quarter?

renomedphys

My brother was kind enough to remind me of this over the weekend:

Scrooge's 1916 Quarter was once an ordinary 1916 quarter, until Scrooge bought it from its original owner and sunk it, along with almost every other 1916 quarter in the world, into the sea, so as to rocket the worth of the one 1916 quarter which he had not sunk to ten skyrillion dollars, making it the rarest and most valuable coin in the world.

Unfortunately for Scrooge, the one coin he had kept was lost, and eventually flattened by a steamroller, rendering it worthless. Scrooge was thus forced to journey to the bottom of the sea and retrieve another 1916 quarter. He succeeded at dredging up this quarter, although not without considerable effort, however, upon his return to the land, he found that it was of no use to him, as it had become so valuable that he was the only man in the world who could afford to buy it. Defeated, Scrooge stashed the Quarter in his collection of treasures and artifacts, where it was stored in a glass case with a sign noting that it was still for sale.

Manifest_Destiny

Connecticoin

Well, well, I missed that one when they were running old Donald Duck films in the library in grade school (circa mid-1970s)

Catbert

I don't remember this one, but very amusing story. Thanks!

DisneyFan

@Manifest_Destiny said:

So it wasn't a Standing Liberty Quarter.

Manifest_Destiny

@DisneyFan said:

@Manifest_Destiny said:

So it wasn't a Standing Liberty Quarter.

Well, it belonged to a talking duck, so I don't think they were aiming for realism.

BillJones

It’s interesting that someone in the Disney animation studio knew about the rarity of a 1916 Standing Liberty quarter. If we knew the year the cartoon was released, we could know how expensive the coin was.

DisneyFan

Secret of Atlantis, also printed under the titles of The Sunken City or The Secret of Atlantis, is a comic book story written and drawn by Carl Barks first seen July the 30th, 1953 (date of writing) & March of 1954 (release date).

Alpha2814

@BillJones said:
It’s interesting that someone in the Disney animation studio knew about the rarity of a 1916 Standing Liberty quarter. If we knew the year the cartoon was released, we could know how expensive the coin was.

It wasn't a cartoon, it was "Uncle Scrooge #5" comics, printed in March 1954. https://scrooge-mcduck.fandom.com/wiki/Secret_of_Atlantis

Edit to add: Welp, someone beat me to it, so I'll just also add that Scrooge didn't appear in cartoons until 1960, and didn't have a regular animated presence until Duck Tales in 1987.

Bochiman

It all started because of a 10c debt and then a "Balonian" nickel....

Copperindian

I don’t remember this; in fact I’m pretty sure I didn’t even know about it. Great story though!

BillJones

@DisneyFan said:
Secret of Atlantis, also printed under the titles of The Sunken City or The Secret of Atlantis, is a comic book story written and drawn by Carl Barks first seen July the 30th, 1953 (date of writing) & March of 1954 (release date).

According to the 7th Edition of "The Red Book" which was published in 1953, the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter was worth $50 in Fine and $125 in Unc. If it had a "full head," the value was 25% more. That's what it says in a box that next to the Standing Liberty Quarter prices.

tincup

Neat! Thanks for the chuckle! (I never knew about that one).

291fifth

I seem to recall that was UNCLE SCROOGE issue #2. It was the earliest UNCLE SCROOGE comic I ever owned. At one time I had every UNCLE SCROOGE from #2 through #41. At that time all of the UNCLE SCROOGE comics were written and drawn by Carl Barks, who had originated the character in 1947 for a newspaper comic strip. When trading comics with other kids in the 1950s UNCLE SCROOGE comics would be valued at double what other comics would bring in trade. The UNCLE SCROOGE comic book was published four times a year and was a very good seller at the news stands.

tincup

I always enjoyed Scrooge McDuck. Especially when he was in his vault and actually diving into his pile of gold coins! (never thought about it then... but that had to have HURT!)

291fifth

@BillJones said:

@DisneyFan said:
Secret of Atlantis, also printed under the titles of The Sunken City or The Secret of Atlantis, is a comic book story written and drawn by Carl Barks first seen July the 30th, 1953 (date of writing) & March of 1954 (release date).

According to the 7th Edition of "The Red Book" which was published in 1953, the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter was worth $50 in Fine and $125 in Unc. If it had a "full head," the value was 25% more. That's what it says in a box that next to the Standing Liberty Quarter prices.

I seem to remember that the coin shown in the comic was a Barber Quarter, not a Standing Liberty.

BillJones

@291fifth said:

@BillJones said:

@DisneyFan said:
Secret of Atlantis, also printed under the titles of The Sunken City or The Secret of Atlantis, is a comic book story written and drawn by Carl Barks first seen July the 30th, 1953 (date of writing) & March of 1954 (release date).

According to the 7th Edition of "The Red Book" which was published in 1953, the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter was worth $50 in Fine and $125 in Unc. If it had a "full head," the value was 25% more. That's what it says in a box that next to the Standing Liberty Quarter prices.

I seem to remember that the coin shown in the comic was a Barber Quarter, not a Standing Liberty.

That turns it into fiction, but that’s okey. It is a comic book after all.