1800 Draped Bust Dollar: All Three Sides of the Coin 1 1

[Sandon]

   Below are photos of an 1800 Draped Bust silver dollar (Very Wide Date, Low 8 "Redbook" variety) that I bought at a local coin auction in December 1990, when prices for this type were much lower than they are now.  The auctioneer described this coin as Extremely Fine, but I realized at the time that it is a lightly polished Very Fine and bid accordingly. It is still an attractive coin. I recently submitted it to NGC and expect a "VF Details" grade.  

   I have been reluctant to submit coins with lettered or decorated edges to grading services because the holder at least partly obscures the edge. The edge should be considered the "third side" of a coin and is important for numismatic study and authentication.  This particular coin has a perfectly impressed edge, and I took a series of photos showing the entire edge before submitting the coin.  All 1794-1803 original U.S. silver dollars show on the edge the words "HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT" with decorative stars, circles and rectangles between the words.  Many of the numerous counterfeits, copies, and replicas of these coins do not correctly duplicate this edge style or even have plain or reeded edges.  (Bear in mind, however, that some of the genuine coins have blundered edges.)

[physics-fan3.14]

While I recognize that the edge is incredibly important on coins like this (I collect Capped Bust Halves), I have not really experimented with how to most effectively photograph the edges. 

[RWB]

Use a flashlight reflector.

[Quintus Arrius]

Me thinks someone ought to write a definitive guide to proper coin polishing technique.  

Seriously, I like the coin and love [what I call] the exquisite time-lapse photography, which could not have been easy to do.

As to the proper grade... tho I may lack the necessary grading skills----and mindful assignment of a formal grade is pending, I would be comfortable in stating it's all going to come down to the wear observable on E PLURIBUS UNUM, the left wing and clouds on the reverse. All the denticles appear to be intact, the date has fine definition, and the edge is remarkably undamaged. Overall a great piece!

[RWB]

VF.

[zadok]

...strong vf with possibility of xf but prob details as cleaned, but u never know....

[Sandon]

  Thanks for the compliments, but I don't think this coin will be numerically graded. It would be somewhere in the VF range if it hadn't been polished. Most early U.S. coins have some level of impairment, but some like this one are attractive nevertheless.

  I own a total of three Draped Bust dollars, each purchased uncertified in the 1990s, the 1800 in 1990 followed by a 1796 large date small letters (small eagle, of course) and a 1799, both at a 1996 Bowers & Merena auction. They're among my best coins. I won't be buying any more at today's prices!  I had the 1799 (unimpaired) graded at NGC earlier this year, and it was graded VF 30, close to the VF 25 catalog grade. It's a little stronger than the 1800, despite having been struck from a worn reverse die.  Its photos can be seen in my NGC Registry type sets, such as "Sandon's Incidental Type Set" at Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com) (right click for menu to open).  The 1796 is also presently at NGC and will fill the slot for the small eagle reverse type. It was catalogued as a F 15 and should grade at least F 12.  [Added 11/9/22--NGC graded the 1796 VF 25!]

   As for the photography, I'm a pretty raw amateur myself.  I've owned a "Plugable" brand digital microscope for about a year and a half. I plug it into my personal computer. It's on a short stand that doesn't permit the taking of a photo of an entire side of a coin larger than a nickel without its being placed on piles of books of varying heights.  The stack to photograph a silver dollar sized coin is quite high!  I constantly have to adjust the focus on the scope and the angle and position of the lamp I use for light, as well as sometimes using the light on the scope itself. Each coin is different.   To photograph the edge of this coin, I had to grip the coin by the edge and turn it for each shot until I had captured all of the edge.  There's some overlap.

Edited November 9, 2022 by Sandon

[zadok]

On 11/6/2022 at 6:46 PM, Sandon said:

  Thanks for the compliments, but I don't think this coin will be numerically graded. It would be somewhere in the VF range if it hadn't been polished. Most early U.S. coins have some level of impairment, but some like this one are attractive nevertheless.

  I own a total of three Draped Bust dollars, each purchased uncertified in the 1990s, the 1800 in 1990 followed by a 1796 large date small letters (small eagle, of course) and a 1799, both at a 1996 Bowers & Merena auction. They're among my best coins. I won't be buying any more at today's prices!  I had the 1799 (unimpaired) graded at NGC earlier this year, and it was graded VF 30, close to the VF 25 catalog grade. It's a little stronger than the 1800, despite having been struck from a worn reverse die.  Its photos can be seen in my NGC Registry type sets, such as "Sandon's Incidental Type Set" at Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com) (right click for menu to open).  The 1796 is also presently at NGC and will fill the slot for the small eagle reverse type. It was catalogued as a F 15 and should grade at least F 12. 

   As for the photography, I'm a pretty raw amateur myself.  I've owned a "Plugable" brand digital microscope for about a year and a half. I plug it into my personal computer. It's on a short stand that doesn't permit the taking of a photo of an entire side of a coin larger than a nickel without its being placed on piles of books of varying heights.  The stack to photograph a silver dollar sized coin is quite high!  I constantly have to adjust the focus on the scope and the angle and position of the lamp I use for light, as well as sometimes using the light on the scope itself. Each coin is different.   To photograph the edge of this coin, I had to grip the coin by the edge and turn it for each shot until I had captured all of the edge.  There's some overlap.

...as mentioned previously in thread use a flashlight reflector cone, place coin horizontal see entire rim at once, easy peasy....

[Sandon]

   NGC graded this coin "VF Details, Cleaned", as I had expected.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 11/15/2022 at 1:04 AM, Sandon said:

   NGC graded this coin "VF Details, Cleaned", as I had expected.

How can you tell it was cleaned/polished ?

[Sandon]

   @GoldFinger1969--You can see light but continuous hairlining in the photos, particularly on the obverse.  The coin itself when viewed at different angles has a slight shine like polished silverware. 

   I have photos of 1796 and 1799 Draped Bust dollars that are numerically graded on the NGC Registry at Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com). I also have a Custom Set on the Registry entitled "Characteristics of Cleaned Coins" with photos and descriptions of specimens that have been details graded "cleaned" or that in my opinion were "cleaned" at Characteristics of "Cleaned" Coins - Custom Set (collectors-society.com). (Right click for menu to open the links.)  In my opinion many coins that have been "cleaned" are still desirable when purchased at an appropriate discount.