Changes: Number One Dime (1987)

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Template:CharacterTop Template:Infobox object (2) The Number One Dime is the first coin that Scrooge McDuck ever earned.

History

The dime is a generic white metal coin marked with a large "10" on oneside and the head of a duck on the other side. Scrooge keeps it on a pedestal in his Money Bin.

Despite it being an American coin, Scrooge earned it in Scotland, by polishing shoes while still a youngster. Although it didn't have any value in Europe, it was its origin that made him decide to leave his home in Cottage McDuck and move to the United States, determined to get rich.

As he arrived in America, the Dime, and his kilt and bagpipes, were his only assets, and Scrooge has saved the Dime ever since, as a symbol of the blood, sweat and tears it took to become the richest duck in the world.

The Dime is still Scrooge's most valued possession, but its value is pure sentimental, something others doesn't allways understand or agree on – Gladstone Gander think of it as Scrooge's "lucky charm" (much to his uncle's annoyance), and Magica De Spell wants to steal it and melt it down, believing it to be able to give her magical abilities that will make her the most powerful which in the world.

Behind the scenes

The Dime was created by Carl Barks in 1953, for the comic book story The Round Money Bin, first published in Uncle Scrooge #3.

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+{{stub}}
-The '''Number One Dime''' is the first coin that [[Scrooge McDuck]] had ever earned. It first appeared in an ''Uncle Scrooge'' comic story titled ''The Round Money Bin'', created by [[Carl Barks]] and first published in ''[[Uncle Scrooge]]'' #3 (September [[1953]]). In this story, the dime is so old that it has become thin as a razor blade and allows Scrooge to cut binding ropes and escape from the [[Beagle Boys]]. Since Carl Barks' [[1961]] classic ''Uncle Scrooge'' comic ''The Midas Touch'', sorceress [[Magica De Spell]] has been trying to obtain the dime.
+{{CharacterTop|Number One Dime (1987)|Number One Dime (2017)}}
+{{Infobox object (2)
+|type = American Dime
+|owner = [[Scrooge McDuck (1987)|Scrooge McDuck]]
+|image1 = Number One Dime 1987.jpg
+}}
+The '''Number One Dime''' is the first coin that [[Scrooge McDuck (1987)|Scrooge McDuck]] ever earned.
-==Description==
+==History==
+[[File:Dime in Bin 1987.jpg|thumb|250px]]
-In one of the dime's early appearances, the comic ''Billions in the Hole'' (1961), written and drawn by Carl Barks, the date on Scrooge's dime is 1899 and it bears the portrait of an eagle.<ref>[[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+US+++33-02]]</ref> However, in some later comic stories, the number one dime is a silver 1875 [[wikipedia:United States Seated Liberty coinage|Seated Liberty Dime]].<ref>Of Ducks, Dimes and Destinies</ref>. It is usually seen encased in a reliquary shaped like a golden platter with a velvet cushion securing the coin under a protective glass dome.
+The dime is a generic white metal coin marked with a large "10" on oneside and the head of a duck on the other side. Scrooge keeps it on a pedestal in his [[Money Bin (1987)|Money Bin]].
+Despite it being an American coin, Scrooge earned it in [[Scotland]], by polishing shoes while still a youngster. Although it didn't have any value in Europe, it was its origin that made him decide to leave his home in [[Cottage McDuck]] and move to the [[USA|United States]], determined to get rich.
-In ''[[DuckTales]]'', the dime is a generic white metal coin marked with a large "10" on its surface (it is unclear if this is the obverse ["heads"] or the reverse ["tails"]), and the cushion is occasionally replaced by a dollar sign ("$")-shaped pedestal.
+As he arrived in America, the Dime, and his kilt and bagpipes, were his only assets, and Scrooge has saved the Dime ever since, as a symbol of the blood, sweat and tears it took to become the richest duck in the world.
-In the ''[[House of Mouse]]'' episode "[[House of Scrooge]]", the Number One Dime is portrayed as a [[wikipedia:Mercury dime|Winged Liberty Head "Mercury" dime]] silver dime of unknown mintage (the "Mercury" dime was minted from 1916 to 1945).
+The Dime is still Scrooge's most valued possession, but its value is pure sentimental, something others doesn't allways understand or agree on – [[Gladstone Gander (2017)|Gladstone Gander]] think of it as Scrooge's "lucky charm" (much to his uncle's annoyance), and [[Magica De Spell (1987)|Magica De Spell]] wants to steal it and melt it down, believing it to be able to give her magical abilities that will make her the most powerful which in the world.
-==Appearances==
-In later stories, it is insinuated that the dime brings good luck to Scrooge and has helped him become a rich man, and in some stories he instantly starts losing money whenever the dime is no longer in his possession. It is never made clear whether the dime actually brings good luck or if Scrooge merely believes in it so much that he is distressed and makes bad decisions whenever he no longer has the dime. In [[Don Rosa]] clarified that the Number One Dime is not actually an amulet, and that this vision was just a myth, which, notably, is inconsistent with some of Barks' classic comics, such as ''Lost Beneath the Sea''<ref>http://www.cbarks.dk/thedime.htm</ref>. Barks made it clear in his stories (including the aforementioned "The Midas Touch", that Scrooge made his fortune working hard and being honest. This point is heavily reinforced in ''DuckTales'', where Scrooge often tells his nephews about the value of hard-earned cash.
+==Behind the scenes==
-The dime is a key plot point in practically every story featuring [[Magica De Spell]] as the main villain. Magica believes that by stealing the first coin earned by the richest person in the world and melting it down to a magical amulet, she can gain the power of the ancient [[King Midas]], so that everything she touches becomes gold and she can be rich beyond her wildest dreams. The fact that this will only work if the coin indeed belongs to the richest person in the world at the time, and is the first coin that person earned, is crucial, and is made into a plot point in some stories.
+The Dime was created by [[Carl Barks]] in 1953, for the comic book story ''The Round Money Bin'', first published in ''[[Uncle Scrooge]]'' #3.
+[[Category:Objects (1987)]]
-According to a comic story by Don Rosa, it is an 1875 Seated Liberty dime, but in a comic story written by Pat and Carol McGreal and drawn by Maximino Tortajada Aguilar, the last two digits have been swapped, making it an 1857 Seated Liberty dime.
-In the 1990s comic ''Of Ducks, Dimes and Destines'', Magica De Spell travels back in time to Scrooge's youth in order to steal the dime. As shown in this story, Scrooge earned the dime in 1877 in his hometown of Glasgow, when he started working as a shoeshine boy on his tenth birthday. Before that it belonged to Howard Rockerduck (the father of [[John D. Rockerduck]]). The customer who paid it to Scrooge, a ditch-digger called Burt, "cheated" Scrooge, as an American dime would be worthless in Scotland (Seated Liberty dimes were discontinued in 1891). In reality, Scrooge's father, [[Fergus McDuck]], gave Burt the dime specifically for paying Scrooge for his services. Scrooge McDuck never learned that fact, although Fergus did reveal it to Scrooge's sisters [[Matilda McDuck|Matilda]] and [[Hortense McDuck|Hortense]]. Burt and Magica De Spell, who learned about this during her time travel, are the only other ones who know. Scrooge kept it as a reminder not to be fooled again in the future. When he emigrated to the US three years later, he carried it with him. Scrooge still has the dime and keeps it on a pillow under glass because it is very special to him. [[Donald Duck]], [[Huey, Dewey, and Louie]], and [[Gladstone Gander]] among many others think it is really a lucky charm, but Scrooge himself maintains it has only sentimental value.