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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.
Description
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. However, in some later comic stories, the number one dime is a silver 1875 Seated Liberty Dime.Of Ducks, Dimes and Destinies. 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.
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.
In the House of Mouse episode "House of Scrooge", the Number One Dime is portrayed as a Winged Liberty Head "Mercury" dime silver dime of unknown mintage (the "Mercury" dime was minted from 1916 to 1945).
Appearances
Comics
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. 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.
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.
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 and 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.
DuckTales
DuckTales (2017)
The story of Scrooge's obtaining the dime in the series is based on the original Barks comics. As a variation from previous depictions, Scrooge has a display at the Money Bin of an ordinary dime which is supposedly the genuine article. In reality, Scrooge keeps the true dime set in a pendant around his neck.