I'd like to show you guys more of my bust halves. 2 2

[Coinzrfun]

Here are a few I have out tonight to share with you. The 1810 has spots on it. They are actually a cobalt blue toning. I refuse to have it removed as it will take off all of what is left of the coins originality so for now it stays.

I dont think they are the finest known or anything but they are mine to enjoy!

If you have some please post them.

 

 

[Sandon]

    I assume that you have no questions about these Capped Bust half dollars.  Regarding your observations about the 1810, the spots are likely indicative of a coin that was "dipped" in an anti-tarnish solution and then not properly rinsed. Such spotting is not a natural toning pattern. 

   I collect these coins by "Redbook" variety and have at least one of each date.  Most are uncertified and stored in an album. You can see photos and descriptions of the NGC and PCGS certified pieces, which include the "key" 1815 and 1836 reeded edge and some higher-grade pieces, can be seen on the NGC Registry at Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com).  

   

[EarlyUS.com]

As many of you know, I collect these by "album variety".  My #1 set is in a Wayte Raymond album, and my #2 set is in a Dansco album (both are two-album sets) but the sets have slightly different varieties required for completion.

Thanks for posting some pics of yours!

[Coinzrfun]

You guys no doubt have coins that are much nicer than mine. I know they are nothing special. They help me cope with PTSD. So many different things to collect. I pull my coins out every so often to look at them to take my mind off of some things. It's a great hobby with so much United States history.

I like to think that maybe some of these coins were in the pocket of one of our nation's founding fathers. We know for sure that they were used by the colonist. I see some people must have the best of everything but for me I will settle for these. Coins are fun!

[Just Bob]

On 5/9/2023 at 4:54 PM, Coinzrfun said:

I know they are nothing special. 

I disagree. I think this is a great group of coins. Thanks for posting them.

[Coinzrfun]

On 5/9/2023 at 1:03 PM, Sandon said:

    I assume that you have no questions about these Capped Bust half dollars.  Regarding your observations about the 1810, the spots are likely indicative of a coin that was "dipped" in an anti-tarnish solution and then not properly rinsed. Such spotting is not a natural toning pattern. 

   I collect these coins by "Redbook" variety and have at least one of each date.  Most are uncertified and stored in an album. You can see photos and descriptions of the NGC and PCGS certified pieces, which include the "key" 1815 and 1836 reeded edge and some higher-grade pieces, can be seen on the NGC Registry at Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com).  

   

I actually have many questions about them but I wouldn't know where to begin. So please post whatever information you care to share. I am more than willing to learn about it. I think I have learned that different Overton varieties exist. If I am not mistaken an Overton variety is a pair of dies used that leave certain markers on a coin. Some are more common than others. One thing I have learned already is that clash marks are common on these coins. I did not know that. I think they are absolutely wild to observe. Whether or not they have a premium on them I do not know. It seems that while these coins are beautiful they are a bit crude when compared to the generations after coins that followed. Especially when we get into Morgan dollars. Morgan's are by far my favorite coins and I have a bunch and I will be posting them.

[Sandon]

On 5/10/2023 at 5:57 AM, Coinzrfun said:

I actually have many questions about them but I wouldn't know where to begin.

  That's why it is difficult to respond to your request. You need to have basic knowledge of U.S. coins to formulate questions that we can answer directly and concisely. In my response to your topic about a 1904-O Morgan dollar I provided a link to a topic of mine entitled "Resources for New Collectors," which names and explains how to obtain some essential print and online resources that you need to obtain such basic knowledge. At a bare minimum, you need to familiarize yourself with a standard current (2024 edition) or recent "Redbook", a grading guide, and, if you intend to buy coins, a current price guide.  I'll try to give you an overview of early half dollars in the context of early (pre-1837 or so) coins generally.

  Before 1837 most U.S. coinage dies were individually made up from individual punches for the devices, letters, stars, numbers, etc., so each die pair produced a distinct variety with these elements in slightly different positions. Beginning in 1837 (1836 for some coins) dies for U.S. coins have generally been produced from "hubs" or master dies that include all design elements except for the dates and any mint marks, so after that there are fewer dies that were distinctly different enough for every die and die pair to be catalogued. Die varieties of later series, including the popular Morgan and Peace dollar VAMS, mainly result from noticeably different date or mint mark positions, errors in the die making process, or damaged or worn dies. (Since about 1908 the dates and since about 1991 mint marks are also included in hubs.)  

   Early U.S. coins are also sometimes collected by die "states" that developed as the dies wore and are indicated by die cracks or breaks, clash marks, and additional changes that resulted from the dies being repolished or reworked.

   The die varieties for the various types and denominations of early U.S. coins have been catalogued by various authors, with the catalog numbers based on their names, "O" numbers after Al C. Overton in the case of early half dollars from 1794 to 1836, consisting of the Flowing Hair (1794-95), Draped Bust small eagle reverse (1796-97 and rare), Draped Bust heraldic eagle reverse (1801-07) and Capped Bust lettered edge (1807-36). As I recall, there are over 500 known Overton die varieties of these series, ranging from quite common to very rare. Standard guides such as the "Redbook" list only the most distinctive and commonly collected varieties for each year, such as overdates like the 1817 7 over 3 included among your coins, and varieties featuring distinctly different numeral or letter sizes.

   The mint struck half dollars of the mentioned series on hand operated screw presses, so the striking quality varies widely.  These half dollars were also struck in an "open collar" that didn't tightly hold the planchet while the coin was struck, so the edge dentils on some coins vary in width around the circumference of the coin, as on your 1810. The open collar enabled the mint to place the edge lettering "FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR" on the planchet before the coin was struck. Subsequent types, struck in tightly fitting "close collars" on steam powered presses were of more uniform diameter and edge width and tend to be better struck but had reeded edges that could be created by a close collar with a grooved edge, as the close collar would crush any previously added edge lettering.

   You can see the results of these technological changes by comparing the photos of these two half dollars from my collection, an 1834 large date and letters graded AU 58 by PCGS but somewhat unevenly struck, with a scarce 1836 reeded edge graded AU 53 by NGC, one of a few thousand struck in a close collar on the mint's new steam powered press:

 

Photos courtesy of Stacks Bowers Galleries.

   

   

[Coinzrfun]

Thank you Sandon that was a great write up. I certainly did learn a few new things. I am a little more familiar with Morgan dollars as they are my primary focus and my favorite U.S. coinage. I do visit vamworld frequently to research the VAMs of the Morgan's I have. I do have many slabbed Morgan dollars but many more unslabbed. I've been talking with a coin shob thats an hour away from me. They are very reputable. I believe at some point I am going to pull out a large group of what I perceive to be my better Morgan's and have them slabbed. It's not something I am in a rush to do as it will likely cost me well over $1000 to have this done. I do think it will be worthwhile nonetheless. I keep them in inert plastic capsules as I feel it is the best way to protect them. I'll post some of my coins as the time passes and I get the urge to escape into coinland.

Thank you!

[ldhair]

[AcesKings]

If you'd like to try your hand at identifying the Overton #'s for each coin, this is the best place to start.....http://maibockaddict.com/

[Coinzrfun]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:42 PM, AcesKings said:

If you'd like to try your hand at identifying the Overton #'s for each coin, this is the best place to start.....http://maibockaddict.com/

Bookmarked and thank you

[jtryka]

@Coinzrfun that is a good group of coins with a lot of history and good honest wear.  Many of us have a lot of coins that might be higher grade, or rarer dates, but for many of us it's the history and stories that these coins tell that are so interesting.  I am exceedingly impressed with your 1817/3, as that is one of my favorite overdates (another addition I have in this series!).  

And to illustrate the range of what many of us collect, here's one I picked up maybe 5 or 10 years ago, I doubt I paid more than a double sawbuck for it, but it had a hole and a lot of honest wear that could tell many stories.  Perhaps someone wore this on a string around their neck as they fled their home during the Civil War, or maybe they used it as a keychain, it might even be a contemporary counterfeit based on the odd positioning of the A and M on the reverse!  Right now it hangs up on the key rack on the door by my garage, but who knows where it will be when it turns 200 (that will be in 10 years in case you can't read the date!).

[Henri Charriere]

@jtryka: If you'd've said the bust half featured above were made of copper, with an honest-to-goodness suggestion of patina/verdigris, I would not disagree. But odd positioning of letters on the reverse notwithstanding, I am not prepared to go the whole hog and throw "contemporary counterfeit" into the mix. No counterfeiter worthy of the title would lay claim to having produced this. I only regret I wasn't there when this rolled off the press.

[jtryka]

On 5/12/2023 at 6:59 PM, Henri Charriere said:

@jtryka: If you'd've said the bust half featured above were made of copper, with an honest-to-goodness suggestion of patina/verdigris, I would not disagree. But odd positioning of letters on the reverse notwithstanding, I am not prepared to go the whole hog and throw "contemporary counterfeit" into the mix. No counterfeiter worthy of the title would lay claim to having produced this. I only regret I wasn't there when this rolled off the press.

@Henri Charriere I believe you may have completely missed the point of my post, so I'll just leave this here...

[ldhair]

[R__Rash]

On 5/12/2023 at 7:50 PM, ldhair said:

Could this be Gemini Liberty? Two profiles. Two noses, two sets of lips, two chins, etc. the twin is there right by her side. 

[Sandon]

On 5/13/2023 at 8:59 AM, R__Rash said:

Could this be Gemini Liberty? Two profiles. Two noses, two sets of lips, two chins, etc. the twin is there right by her side. 

   The 1824 Capped Bust half dollar features prominent strike doubling that created the appearance of a double profile of Liberty, as frequently seen on both large cents and half dollars of this era.

[ldhair]

1823 was also a common year for profile doubling. Pretty cool but little to no added value. Some collectors don't care for them.

 

[Henri Charriere]

On 5/13/2023 at 11:59 AM, ldhair said:

1823 was also a common year for profile doubling. Pretty cool but little to no added value. Some collectors don't care for them.

Maybe the collectors who don't care for them is because 1823, as you say, was a common year for profile doubling.  🤔  

[AcesKings]

Only double profile I have, not near as dramatic as Idhair's.......

 

[Mr_Spud]

Here’s a few of mine

 

[Coinzrfun]

Well I am so happy to see this has turned into a productive post. Lots of nice coins and history discussion here. This is why coins are fun!

[jtryka]

These two arrived yesterday and one of them is a new die marriage for me.

 

[USAuPzlBxBob]

On 5/14/2023 at 2:53 PM, Mr_Spud said:

Here’s a few of mine

 

Bodacious Tatas.

 

[R__Rash]

Uno mas

[AcesKings]

[ldhair]

[Henri Charriere]

On 5/16/2023 at 3:29 PM, AcesKings said:

Exceptional !!!

[jtryka]

On 5/12/2023 at 6:59 PM, Henri Charriere said:

@jtryka: If you'd've said the bust half featured above were made of copper, with an honest-to-goodness suggestion of patina/verdigris, I would not disagree. But odd positioning of letters on the reverse notwithstanding, I am not prepared to go the whole hog and throw "contemporary counterfeit" into the mix. No counterfeiter worthy of the title would lay claim to having produced this. I only regret I wasn't there when this rolled off the press.

Checked today at my local coin shop and this is not silver, not sure what the metal is, but I am now convinced it's a contemporary counterfeit.