Scrooge tells the story of how his Number One Dime got his fortune started.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: When Scrooge first arrived in America, a policeman wrote him up for wearing a kilt in public, mistaking it for a skirt. Fortunately for Scrooge, a Scottish judge heard the case and took so much offense that he sentenced the officer to wear a kilt for thirty days.
- Dreadful Musician: Young Scrooge's bagpipe-playing was apparently ear-pluggingly bad.
- Embarrassingly Dresslike Outfit: A third-party variant; Scrooge, at this point a poor Scottish immigrant, draws the attention of a policeman, who objects to his wearing a skirt in public. ("It's a kilt!") However, when Scrooge's case goes to trial, it turns out that the judge is Scottish (and is also wearing a kilt). Offended, he sentences the policeman to wear an actual skirt for thirty days.
- Everything's Louder with Bagpipes: Scrooge is apparently a poor musician going by his parents' reactions when he says he wants to play bagpipes for a living. Luckily, he finds a way to weaponize the horror of the badly-played instrument against the Beagle Boys when they give him trouble.
- Hard Work Fallacy: Scrooge attributes his early success in life to the motto, "Work smarter, not harder." Not that he doesn't work plenty hard, but he doesn't reach his full potential until he learns to apply his effort effectively.
- Hitchhiker's Leg: A young Scrooge McDuck is shown having trouble hitchhiking after arriving in America, until he lifts his kilt, drawing a young lady's coach over.
- An Immigrant's Tale: Scrooge acquired his massive wealth after he decided to sail across the Atlantic from his native Scotland after being tipped a dime while shining shoes.
- Man in a Kilt: The day of the episode is special, so Scrooge gets out his kilt.
- Musical Assassin: Young Scrooge managed to weaponize his bagpipes against the Beagle Boys, causing them to scream for the playing to stop. They consider Scrooge's bagpipe playing as "fighting dirty".
- Not Now, Kiddo: Subverted. When Scrooge panics about the Number One Dime being missing, the nephews try to tell him that they have it, only to be brushed off...for about five seconds.
- Running Gag: People mistaking Scrooge's kilt for a skirt occurs several different times.
- Show Some Leg: Scrooge does this when he's trying to hitchhike. It works.
- Took a Level in Cynic: Scrooge started his career trusting enough to be scammed more than once. This episode, compared with the series as a whole, shows he's become a lot more cynical over the years.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Scrooge McDuck: Origins.
