Just Bob

Because of the way the letters were applied, edge lettering errors are not terribly uncommon on Bust Half Dollars,although I thing doubled lettering may be a bit less common than some other types . Looks like an O-110, Small Date,Small Letters, which is listed as an R3. I found a post by Conder101 on another forum from 2008 that had drawings of the Castaing machine used to apply the letters. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/capped-bust-lettered-edge-half-dollar.39789/ And here is a picture of one on display in the ANA museum:

Why limit yourself? Think like an Etsy seller, and list it for $25,000. (And, I am not exaggerating. I saw a common Jefferson nickel with environmental damage listed on Etsy not long ago for $50k.)

Congrats on the good grades.

I can make out the "G" on the paper, but what is the other smaller bit of writing?

It isn't a BIE, and I don't see any doubling or re-punching, but, to be totally honest, the pictures are just too fuzzy when I enlarge them. Most minor doubling is very subtle, and requires clear close-up pictures to identify accurately.

That is exactly how I approach buying tokens, although availability of funds often plays a part, as well.

Congrats! All of your looking and studying is paying off.

Welcome to the forum, and may I say "good job" on doing such thorough research. It looks as though you have pretty much answered your own question: The above companies' retail prices tend to be high, CDN is the dealer wholesale (low end, and what we would like to pay for all of our coins), and actual prices realized are your best indicator of what you should reasonably expect to pay for a coin. As far as how the companies determine prices, I have no clue, but it does not appear to be from following Ebay auctions. Do you have any local coin shops or nearby coin shows? A friendly relationship with a local dealer can be a good thing, and dealers at shows are often willing to negotiate if things are slow. By the way, we like pictures.

The rim looks right, but from those pictures, I surely can't tell.

If you are going to search Indian Cents for doubling, you should first learn about Longacre Doubling, otherwise you are going to be chasing shadows..

Although this is actually more a commemorative medal, rather than a token, it is included in the Chatham book on Mississippi tokens, so I am including it here. This piece was issued to celebrate President Taft's visit to Vicksburg in October 1909, during his tour of the States. Although most tokens I encounter are worn or even damaged, I may pick them up if the money is right, since I may not get another chance to own one. This one is no exception. It looks like it was carried as a pocket piece, and took a serious hit on what is considered the obverse - the side picturing the issuing bank. I don't always worry about upgrading my less-than-stellar pieces, but I would like to find a nicer example of this one. It is listed as an R8 (4-5 pieces known), but I always take those estimates with a grain of salt. More likely, there are 6-8 pieces, possibly a few more. This is the only one I have seen in the last 10 or more years.

Finding varieties is one of the fun ways to collect tokens, as it is with coins. The problem with the ones that I collect is that, unless the wording or placement of the words is different, the Mississippi token book only gives a description like "2 varieties known." With no description of the difference, it is up to me to look at all examples to see it I can find out what the difference is. Still, that makes things more interesting. Nice tokens

Considering how well struck the reverse is, It could be. Hard to say for sure just from pictures, though.

Welcome to The Forum. At first glance, it appears that your coin was struck by a broken die. Looking at the edge, however, it is oddly shaped in that area. Can you provide a picture of the reverse side?

Your token was used at the Elba Fruit Market, a grocery store in Calais, Maine, which was owned by Mr.Checchi. I tried to find the start date of the business and how long it was there, but I had no success. I did find a picture. An example of this token sold for $97 in January, 2019, and there is one example for sale on Ebay currently. The asking price is $49.99.

Just damage.

That is actually a common occurrence. We see pictures of coins with this type of damage quite often.

It would really be nice if you could only start one thread on each subject or coin. Duplicate threads can get confusing.

Sounds like a set put together by someone, not by the mint.

Did you not start one thread on this medal already? It is a medal made by a private company, not by the US government. It's value is minimal - probably 2 or 3 dollars.

It has been milled, probably to accept another cent which was (or was to be) cut down to fit inside, reverse side out, thus making a two-tailed coin.

That is actually the Boston Elevated Railway Company. Both tokens were manufactured by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut. There is certainly a market for them, but they appear to be common. There is an auction on Ebay now with examples of these two tokens and ten others: Link Here

This is very true. Some of them have miniscule doubling that shows up only on the reverse stars, and then only under strong magnification. Although they actually are doubled dies, they are so insignificant as to be worth almost no premium, except to a die-hard variety collector. Look for splits on the serifs of the letters, like on the coin pictured below:

You can get the same effect as the second picture using a single light source and a loupe. That is why it is important to view coins from several angles. Shadows and glare can be deceiving. I like the fact that you are experimenting with different lighting methods. It will definitely help you to determine whether you have something unusual or not. The ring light looks like it gives the most realistic view of the coins devices, as far as doubling, but probably not of the luster or surface marks. I would really like to see more comparison pictures. This thread and the one that Revenant started, showing his comparison pictures, are quite interesting to me.

I want to see a picture of whatever that 1999 coin is that is muled with a Roosevelt dime reverse.