TomB

Bruce, I noticed and was wondering what was up. It's a good thing you are back. All of your new coins are quite interesting and have positive appeal, but I think I like the Columbian the most only because the 1861 Seated half might have had a spot removed from the obverse.

No. MS65.

Similar to Winston, my newest purchase arrived today and it is a duplicate to one that I already own and that I am quite happy with. However, I am a sucker for this design and believe that superior examples are a good buy at present levels. The new coin, shown below, is the same grade as the previous one and I will be keeping both.

They look like nice CBHs, Winston, though your previous 1824 must not have been that nice if you went out and purchased another sight-unseen.

There are some very cool coins on this page. Leeg, you have significant red remaining on that large cent, which image do you think is closer to its actual color? I would guess that the larger image (top) is most accurate. RGT, you're not kidding that your trime has extensive die erosion. Wow! Is your 1864 two-center a rotated die?

How dare you post a coin to this thread!!!

Just kidding! The reverse image makes it look like it is a late die state, how are the dentils in-hand?

That's a fair enough request, Mike. I would first like to state that the only reason I came out so negative on the coin in a public fashion was because Chad had asked if we liked his coin. Stating that I liked it would have been actively deceptive while silence would have been passively deceptive. Therefore, I decided to be honest.

I've taken the image of the coin and crudely circled and color coded the areas of the coin that bother me. The image is as follows-

The areas in red are what I consider to be fairly major rim nicks or dents and as you can see, there are four on the obverse and two on the reverse. Unless the coin has a rotated die, these rim dents and nicks do not correspond to one another, obverse to reverse, and so I think of them as all being individual hits. There are four on the obverse and two on the reverse for a total of six fairly obvious to severe rim nicks. The area in yellow on the obverse may be an artifact of the image or it might be another area of the rim that is chewed away by some post-Mint damage. If it is damage, then there are seven areas on the rim that show problems.

The area in light green on the obverse is meant to also encompass the red area directly adjacent to it. This area looks very much like it has been deformed in the past and is either slightly thinner than the rest of the coin or is still not flat with the rest of the coin. It may simply be a stain, but the way that star one also appears altered makes this area look like it was pinched. The obverse field, circled by blue, simply looks too devoid of dirt, grime, skin or whatever name one might give residual dirt and oils. Again, it may be the way that I am interpreting the image, and I may be incorrect, but it also may be a sign that the obverse was lightly washed to lighten it up.

The reverse has four areas circled with pink in addition to the red areas mentioned previously. The pink areas circle what appear to be stains, gunk or debris within the rays. This type of effect can be completely original or, in many cases, can be a sign that someone lightened the coin up with a soap and water bath but could not get the dirt or stains removed from the voids in the intricate details of the design.

Overall, my impression is that the areas in red are a sign that the coin has seen more than average damage. The yellow, blue and green areas may be artifacts or might be real however, if the green area was truly pinched at one time then there is serious damage to the coin. The pink and blue areas might be innocent bystanders or they could be witnesses to a coin that was lightened. Obviously, I have not examined the coin in-hand, nor have I had any previous owner of the piece give me an analysis of it, but the readily apparent rim damage makes me believe that my interpretation of the image may be accurate on some levels. Additionally, the coin appears to have F15 details, which would make it worth approximately $30 and is a desired one year type. In my experience, problem-free coins in mid-grade do not typically sell for around 30% of their market value unless they truly aren't problem-free.

I truly feel like a jerk for writing this Chad but, no, I don't like the coin at $10 if for no other reason that you might have found an original and attractive VF for fairly little extra money.

The only one of my newps from the Baltimore show that has an image-

I agree with your logic about those modern commems that are compelling to buy and think that your photography skills are quite good.

The Connecticut commem is probably my favorite commem design of all time.

Larry, what did the 1889 grade at PCGS? Here's an image to keep the thread moving (I hope I haven't posted this one in this thread before ).

John, I've always found the Wisconsin half to be oddly attractive, what with the dung heap and all, and the images of your coin certainly make it look like an MS66/MS67 piece.

I'm assuming any date commem will suffice?

You don't like the Viking theme do you, Winston?

Lee, that's a smoker of a York, they don't normally come nearly that nice!

The only problem with that coin is that it isn't mine.

I believe it's a PF65, not an MS65.

This is a terrific post for a variety I was previously unfamiliar with, you also did a wonderful job highlighting the various mis-steps in its production.

Any 1808 CBH is a tough coin.

Four dollars! The guy might as well have given it away.

Nice CBHs.

Where is the head thumping against the wall emoticon when you need it?

Holy Smokes! The 1894 is a freakin' tough Barber half dollar! Folks who don't collect this series have no idea how truly difficult this coin is.

That's got a nice look to it and it matches closely my NJ quarter that is in my Dansco 7070.