Info aboot Arnprior dollars.

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mdwoods
mdwoods Posts: 5,560 ✭✭✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum
I saw an auction for a Canadian Arnprior dollar so I did a search to see what info I could find. Here is what I came up with if you are interested.

The term "Arnprior" was first applied to 1955 silver dollars with only 2 and 1/2 water lines in front of the Canoe (actually one of the water lines is part of the island), with no trace of a fourth waterline visible even at 10 x magnification. Some of these 1955 Arnprior die dollars have a die break between the T I if GRATIA in the obverse inscription, and when present we denote these and the "Arnprior DB" type. These die break examples are more highly valued than examples without the die break, because this is considered to be the original due used for the examples that were distributed at Arnprior Ontario.

They were struck when a business in Arnprior, Ontario ordered dollars for a giveaway to its employees, at a time when the mint had none available. To fill the order, the mint took out and re-polished a slightly worn reverse die, removing part of the water lines in the process. The obverse die was also deteriorating, with a die crack running between the"T" and "I" of "GRATIA". Today, any 1955 2 1/2 waterline dollar is classed as an Arnprior variety, but those without the obverse die break sell for a slight discount.

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Comments

  • shirohniichan
    shirohniichan Posts: 4,992 ✭✭✭
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    I'm not into die state varieties, so I'm a bit puzzled about the premiums for some Arnpriors. It's cool that the owner can know in what month his coin was struck, but otherwise I don't get the appeal. image
    image
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  • Blackhawk
    Blackhawk Posts: 3,899 ✭✭✭
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    Like the 3-legged Buffalo nickel or the 1922 no D cent, it's a variety that has sparked interest in the collectors of the coins.
    "Have a nice day!"
  • WorldTypeSet
    WorldTypeSet Posts: 1,365 ✭✭✭✭
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    I've never understood the popularity of the Arnprior dollars. Especially for those years that were retroactively assigned the Arnprior label, such as the 1950 and 1951 varieties.

    Now the 1952 Water Lines / No Water Lines varieties are a different story ...
    Paul

    My World Coin Type Set
  • shirohniichan
    shirohniichan Posts: 4,992 ✭✭✭
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    My Dansco is still missing the 1950 "Arnprior" (actually prior-Arnprior), the 1951, and the 1955. I was surprised to see that Dansco added a space for the 1957 "1 Water Line" variety. Although that variety is supposed to be scarcer than the regular variety, the one I already had in my collection was the One Liner. Now I have to decide if I want to crack out the 1965 MB P5 variety I bought from ajaan many moons ago. image
    image
    Obscurum per obscurius

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