This is the Part 4 I had hoped for!

Several weeks of anxious waiting have almost come to a pleasing end. The Liberty Seated Collectors Club Summer 2015 issue of the Gobrecht Journal (volume 41.3, issue #123) had an article by half dime authority Stephen Crain about three varieties of 1847 shattered reverse (SR) half dimes. I wrote earlier about my acquisition of the first of those shortly after I received the journal.

In my quest to complete my set of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, I try to keep up on what coins are currently available through various dealers, and are upcoming at various auction companies. Back in October, I started looking at what would be available in the Heritage December 3-6 auction. There was an 1847 half dime, graded MS 66 by NGC. Initially, I did not think much of it because I have one of those in my main set already, and in the Crain article, he says that in his decades of specializing in these coins, that he has seen only one each of the other two varieties of SRs for the year.

But in a later view of the auction's growing lineup, I decided to look at it more closely. What I saw surprised me. One obvious crack from the right ribbon to the rim matched the second SR variety! The combination of toning and lighting for the photo made fine details difficult to discern, but I could see most of the cracks identified by Crain, and maybe one or two he did not mention! It was clearly the same reverse die, possibly in a different die state.

My next step was to see if the obverse was the same. Looking at the article's photo, the obverse did not match. Did I have a new die marriage that Crain had never seen? Well, not so fast. Looking at things in the article a little more, it was apparent that an error was made. The same obverse photo was printed for the first two SR varieties. It matched the description of the first.

Then I went to the LSCC discussion boards to call attention to the problem, and to ask Steve to post the correct photo. Once the photo was posted, I had my answer: It matched the coin at Heritage. So I identified a second known example of the variety. (The Heritage coin and the one in the article are clearly not the same coin.)

Of course, I had to have this coin! At this point, I had three and a half weeks to wait this out. Would anyone else notice? If so, would they be willing to pay a strong premium for it? Had my post on the LSCC boards raised too much attention?

On my side is the lack of good information about the Liberty Seated Half Dime series in general. The existing books are simply not up to the standards I am used to with the early copper, and have been appearing for other US coin series. So there is not yet a large collector base for these coins, especially not for varieties.

Well, the auction session in question was this past Friday evening. This 1847 half dime crossed the block uneventfully, and will soon be home, briefly, to be photographed and enjoyed. I got it for less than it fetched earlier this year, and for less than my other MS 66 for the year. I feel like I got a real bargain. But collector interest will have to grow for that to be fully realized.

Here is Crain's description of the cracks:

"Die crack from rim at K7:30 through right upright of U1 to wreath and up across leaves.

Die crack from rim at K10:00 to D1.

Die crack from rim at K12:00 to tops of TES and back to rim.

Die crack connects bases of F1 and A2.

Die crack from rim at K1:30 to A2 to wreath at berry.

Die crack connects tops of M1 and E3, and to rim.

Die crack from rim at K5:00 to right stem to wreath.

Die crack from rim at K5:30 to right ribbon to right stem to bow.

Die crack from left wreath at upper berry to just below left serif of H(ALF) to I of DIME.

Faint die crack from bottom of L in HALF to top of M in DIME."

Other cracks are marked on the article's photo, and at least one more is neither marked nor mentioned in the text.

Once I have it in hand, I should be able to assess the relative die state, compared to the one in the article. The photos in the article and at Heritage are good, but not as good as I need for a proper evaluation.

So there still are some nifty coins out there, in plain view, waiting to be discovered. I think the Liberty Seated Half Dimes are fertile ground for this, since so few people have been looking. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Alan

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