A Few Coins from my Favorite Era of US Coinage; the mid-1830s through mid-1840s

[TomB]

I realize that the coins shared and the time period written about in this thread are not from the birth of our nation, but it might yet be an appropriate post to start on Independence Day. If your grammar school, middle school and high school history classes were like mine then the time period through the War of 1812 was heavily studied, which was almost immediately followed by the immediate causes of the Civil War with only a very brief mention of the intervening forty years. These years might as well have fallen into a black hole or otherwise be thought of as the backwater of US history. I won’t delve into the history of the nation during this time period, but it was fascinating as was the history of the US Mint and its various coinage products.

 

This historic niche makes the coins produced in this era interesting, but the changes in personnel, design and technology also make for a vibrant collecting opportunity. My personal numismatic journey has focused on various series or eras including early , high grade Washington quarters, matte proof Lincoln cents and original, wonderfully toned twentieth century coinage. A common thread was always the chase for unperturbed surfaces and an attractive look. Commencing perhaps a dozen years ago I charged headlong into the study of US type and that is where I have found my numismatic home. My goal is to deconstruct any potential purchase and use an analytical eye with respect to the surfaces of the piece and how those surfaces might have come about over time.

 

I’m picky, I’ll state that upfront. As a consequence of this collecting and dealing philosophy I look at or examine large numbers of coins, but not many of those coins are subsequently purchased by me, either for my collection or for the collections of my clients. Following are some examples of pieces that have “made the cut” as it were, and that have found themselves tucked away into my own collection. They may not have the “WOW!” factor for every collector, but they sure appear uber-cool to me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SkyMan]

LOVELY coins Tom!!! You have a great "eye" for superb looking coins!!!

[Buffalo Head]

All of your examples are well stuck and as far as I'm concerned they do have the wow factor. You have a great eye for coins and I enjoyed reading your post.

[nunfa0]

Great post Tom and thanks for showing us those wonderful coins!

[Mozin]

Very nice coins.

[Gunny]

I have been recently bit by the Liberty Seated Dime series'. Fatally bit I'm afraid. Very nice pictures.

[Hard Times]

1830s to civil war, my fav time! Thanks Tom, stunners all!

[Walkerfan]

VERY NICE!! I especially like the reeded edge and the dime Busties!! :thumbsup:

 

Both very uncommon and not easy to come across in nice shape like yours.

[rrantique]

LOVELY coins Tom!!! You have a great "eye" for superb looking coins!!!

 

(thumbs u

[robec1347]

Great looking coins Tom. Do you have something in there for us copper lovers?

[MBA101]

Fun looking set. (thumbs u

[Flatwoods]

Very attractive coins!

[James_OldeTowne]

Marvelous coins - smack dab within my very favorite era of U.S. numismatics!!

[Dudley the 1st]

That 36 is stella.

[pakasmommy-migration]

Enjoyed the post and love the coins. Thank you!

[crypto79-migration]

The replies were a little better across the street for this thread.

[No+4Me]

I have a question for TomB, I hope he checks back in. The CBD has prominent blue toning, as a chemist what is your explanation for this? I see blue toning on mint set coins from the late 1950's, but not so much on capped bust issues.

 

I really admire the persistence it takes to locate coins with such original surfaces. This is a nice thread to learn something from.

[TomB]

The 1836 CB dime certainly has a much stronger and truer blue color than any of the other coins in this thread. I believe that there are a large number of ways that a coin can tone without having been intentionally boinked and that these various ways of toning produce an array of "looks". My own preference is for a number of appearances and I attempt to incorporate these into my collection or buy them for my clients. The blue color on the CB dime is something I have seen on a fair number of dimes and half-dimes from the era, but has been much less common in my experience on larger denominations.