A Rare Die Variety? by Electric Peak Collection

[CSJournals-migration]

I'm not sure why I didn't notice this before.

 

The world of Early American Copper has many collectors pursuing not just types or dates, but specific die marriages and even die states for their collections. They have excellent reference books to help identify those varieties. Examples of very rare varieties can fetch many times the price of more common varieties.

 

My date set of middle and late dates (1816-1857) was completed a few years ago. While I was working on it, I paid attention to varieties, but never considered building more than the date set.

 

Now that I am trying to learn more about more of our classic US coinage, and as I am building a nice set of Capped Bust and Liberty Seated Half Dimes, I find that the early copper folks are far ahead in the game of variety collecting. But some series are catching up! In any case, there really is no good reference for Liberty Seated Half Dime die varieties. But I do have, and use, the books that are out there: Valentine, Blythe, and the new Flynn book.

 

Just now, while adding a couple coins I just bought in the Heritage Tuesday weekly internet session into the Registry and into my collection spreadsheet, I looked at those reference books again because I noticed that I had not identified the variety of a coin I got a couple months ago. It is the 1841-O Small O half dime that I wrote about at the time.

 

Valentine lists two die marriages for 1841-O with a small mint mark. The descriptions are sufficient for me to say that my coin is not one of those two varieties. Blythe, being more recent, list one more variety: "V-5 also has a mintmark measuring 0.8 millimeters. Known from only 1 specimen-a choice XF-from a well worn die." That is certainly not enough information to make a positive identification. No real diagnostics are given, and it does not even say which die was well worn. But my coin is at least consistent with that description.

 

So now I am very excited that I may have an example of that variety that was unique as of 1992. Who knows - maybe it is the same coin. Or maybe it is a discovery of a previously unknown variety. I will have to dig deeper into the available literature, mainly the Liberty Seated Collectors Club's Gobrecht Journal, or contact the LSCC half dime experts to see if I really have something special (as coins go).

 

Anyway, here is a shot of the reverse, the same as with my 12/1/14 post. Several die cracks are visible, and are what exclude this from being a variety described by Valentine. When I find out more, I will let you know...

 

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[RWB]

Also a clashed die.... Did you measure the mm?

[Electric Peak]

> Also a clashed die.... Did you measure the mm?

 

Yes, the MM is pretty close to the "Small O" size of 0.8 mm. (Sizes about 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 mm occur on New Orleans half dimes.)

I'm not sure what Blythe meant by 'well worn die'. I would normally think it means that details in the die have been degraded, or that there are obvious flow lines, etc. In any case, with clash marks, cracks, and evidence of rust, the reverse die that made this coin was far from pristine.

 

Alan

[RWB]

No sign of real rust -- just an old die.

 

By now, you probably need the input of series specialists.