Question About 180 Degree Rotated Reverse Half Cent 0

[Tyrock]

I just bought an 1808 PCGS VG08 half cent. The reverse of the coin has a die error of 180 degrees causing the coin to be in medallic alignment. APMEX states that this alignment is rare, yet when I purchased the coin from a dealer at the show, I bought it at a small premium over bid.  The PCGS price guide has a value of $190.00, but the slab does not mention the reverse rotated die. The cert # is 34663350. PCGS has a link to its last auction appearance at DLRC where photos of it can be seen (I'm still trying to learn how to post a photo). Their description of the coin does not mention the rotated die either. So, the question is: Do I actually have a rare error coin or not? I've seen half cents with minor reverse rotations, but not one with a 180-degree rotation. Opinions would be most welcome.

[Fenntucky Mike]

A 180 die rotation is probably the most desirable of this type of error and I'd expect that it would bring a small premium but nothing outrageous. Yes, I would say that this type of error, 180 deg rotation, is fairly rare but might be more common on older coinage like this, many pieces of this type may have some rotation, if not 180. Rare does not equal valuable and that might be the case for a piece like this. Below are the pictures from DLRC.

[Sandon]

   Significant rotated dies aren't that unusual on earlier U.S. coins. Although a medallic--or nearly medallic like your coin's--rotation would be of interest to some collectors, I've never heard of them commanding much of a premium.  They're considered more of a curiosity than a "rare error coin". 

[zadok]

…these varieties seem to be a bit more common during the liberty seated era 1837-1891 specifically 1840s for whatever reason…in some cases a minimum premium n others more substantial…especially in the series where there r more die pair collectors…there r several articles published on these in the online Gobrecht Journal…i believe this same subject is addressed in a few articles on the Gobrecht dollars as well….

[Henri Charriere]

I suspect a collector devoted to this series-- @The Neophyte Numismatist -- may be of assistance...

[Tyrock]

This was helpful. Thank you.

[powermad5000]

While the coin in question definitely has a rotated reverse die, it is not exactly 180 degrees. It seems there is some leeway on it being perfectly 180 degrees to get the designation and I used my phone to see the difference and came up with 9 degrees from a perfect rotation. Some of the slabs I looked at for sale fall into the designation without perfect alignment, so I would guess this would be the same.

It is possible the original submitter either just was oblivious to the rotated die, or didn't submit the coin as a mint error and pay the extra amount to have it graded as such. I don't submit to PCGS but I would imagine they charge extra like NGC does to grade a mint error coin.

I would say true Medallic Alignment is harder to find than just a plain rotated die, but I as well am not sure if it would bring a large premium as many of the early cents had some type of rotation. I just took a peek at Sullivan Numismatics and they have no Medallic Alignment errors for sale.

Imho, being rotated dies are quite common on these early cents, I would say a Medallic Alignment would only add about $75-100 to the coin, especially one in the VG grade. I think if the coins grade was higher then it might command more of a premium. Just my opinion though, as it was asked for.