~The 1832 LM1/B10 Capped Bust Half Dime~

[Cladiator]

I posted this in the Land of Banishment but figured it should probably be over here too as a coin forum is a coin forum.

 

 

 

 

 

1832 LM1 / B10 Capped Bust Half Dime

 

 

The Capped Bust Half Dime (CBH10¢) denomination began its life in the year 1829. By the time the 1832 LM1/B10 was being made there were already 3,712,700 CBH10¢’s bearing earlier dates out in circulation. The mintage of the 1832 CBH10¢ was reported to be a total of 965,000 (2nd smallest mintage of the series).

 

The 1832 LM1/B10 is currently rated as an R4 on the rarity scale which means that of the 965,000 coins dated 1832 somewhere between 76 and 200 of them are the this particular die marriage. These figures show this die marriage to indeed be somewhat difficult to locate. That being said, it is not considered rare and normally would not garner a sales premium based upon the number of known examples in existence.

 

This die marriage apparently escaped the attention of the “Father of Half Dimes”, Daniel W. Valentine, as it is noticeably absent in his work, The United States Half Dimes, published in 1931. It was first described in print by Walter Breen in his United States Half Dimes: A Supplement published by The Coin Collector’s Journal #160 in 1958. Breen described the coin as a “No Berries” subtype and also went on to state that he believed it to be an extremely rare die marriage. He mentions three of them known to him (“AU to Unc.”) which would make the marriage an R8, the highest rarity rating possible. The die marriage would carry the moniker of “B10” until the Logan/McCloskey work, in 1998, and their new numbering system. It has henceforth been known as the “LM1”.

 

Between the 1958 Breen research and the 1998 Logan/McCloskey work there were a significant amount of 1832 LM1/B10’s discovered. It’s noteworthy that the rarity rating of this die marriage has been at R4 for quite some time. In print, it has been an R4 coin since 1998 with the publishing of Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837 by Russell J. Logan and John W. McCloskey. The most recent and credible CBH10¢ survey in the John Reich Journal, Volume 17 / Issue 1, 12/2005 still listed the marriage as R4.

 

The John Reich Journal, Volume 17 / Issue 1, 12/2005 lists the finest as an MS64 in the survey of collections from its members. However, there are records of the Eliasberg 1832 LM1/B10 which is an MS66 and the finest known example to date. I personally know of at least 5 coins of this die marriage in the mint state grades.

 

This die marriage is listed as number #1 in the CBH10¢ emmision order chart. It has been determined to be the first half dime die marriage struck bearing the date of 1832.

 

 

 

 

The obverse die used to strike the 1832 LM1/B10 die marriage was “Obverse #1”. This was the very first use of this die. It later went on to strike two more die marriages for the year (LM5/V8 and LM7/V9).

 

This die was in excellent condition when coining of the LM1/B10 began and retained it’s relatively pristine state throughout the entire minting of the die marriage. The only thing that could be seen as a defect was that it regularly struck coins weaker in the center than it did on the periphery. It is known for very strong, large dentils of which it has 114.

 

There are several characteristics to look for when inspecting the obverse of a potential LM1/B10 coin. I will mention only a few here. The 13 stars are called “Hollow Center Stars”. This simply means that the centers of the stars are lower relief than the points of the stars. It gives a sunken or concave appearance that is starkly different from the “Pointed Center Stars” seen on other CBH10¢’s. Another quick and easy pick up point for Obverse Die #1 is the relationship between S6 and S7 (Star 6 and Star 7, the two topmost stars in front of Liberty’s face). These two stars are significantly closer together than the other stars.

 

 

 

 

The reverse die used to strike the 1832 LM1/B10 die marriage was “Reverse M”. This was the seventh use of this die. It later went on to strike one more die marriage (1832 LM2/V3).

 

“Reverse Die M” had some issues and was not nearly as pristine as the obverse. The “F” was partially filled. There was a die crack from the right wing tip to the lower arrow head and rust on the die had imparted pits underneath the "RI" in "PLURIBUS". This die was lapped right before production of this marriage began and this resulted in the two berries of the olive branch disappearing. The lapping literally shaved them off. This is why Breen referred to it as the “No Berries” type. This die has 123 dentils.

 

When looking to identify “Reverse Die M” one can look at the relationship between E2/S2 (the "ES" in "STATES") and the smaller "S" in "PLURIBUS". In this case the right edge of E2 is in line with the center of the "S" in "PLURIBUS". Also note that the letters "MERI" in "AMERICA" are touching each other at the bottom. Also, the period in “5C.” is small in size and is centered directly on top of a dentil.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, the 3rd die. The reeded edge of the 1832 LM1/B10 die marriage has 96 reeds.

 

 

 

 

I caution you to never attribute a coin by only inspecting one of the dies. It’s vitally important to always look at both sides. This bad habit is one way that unknown die marriages stay unknown. I also caution you that this article is not an attribution guide. While I state a few characteristics, I’m leaving many out. Please get one of the above mentioned reference books for accurate attribution guides.

 

 

 

 

Recent sales history of the 1832 LM1/B10 :

 

03/2006

ANACS AU55 Details, Cleaned

$195.50

 

01/2006

NGC AU58

$345.00

 

12/2005

NGC MS66

$2,760.00

 

09/2005

ANACS AU55

$230.00

 

09/2004

ANACS AU50

$166.75

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources; Untied States Half Dimes, D.W. Valentine / United States Half Dimes: A Supplement, Walter Breen / Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837 Russell J. Logan and John W. McCloskey / John Reich Journal Volume 17 Issue 1 / Heritage Auction Archives (Featured Photos) / Bowers & Merena, Russell J. Logan Auction Archive

[okbustchaser]

I caution you to never attribute a coin by only inspecting one of the dies. It’s vitally important to always look at both sides. This bad habit is one way that unknown die marriages stay unknown.

 

Even if the coin has a hole in it?

 

Nice post, Rich. Great info.

 

Jim

 

Edited to add...

 

By the way, congrats on your upcoming wedding...even if it does cut into your coin budget it's worth it.

[Amanda]

Wow!

 

A great post full of information.

 

Thanks for taking the time.

 

-Amanda

[Cladiator]

Even if the coin has a hole in it?

Yeah yeah yeah. Trust me I learned my lesson good on that one. My fiance insists on reminding me about that every time she see's somethinng she wants that costs more than $10,000.00.

 

 

Fiance = Wow Cladiator did you see that new Ford Escape Hybrid that just drove by? Too bad we don't still have that holey coin...it sure would make one heck of a nice down payment.

 

Cladiator = ....ugh....

[TomB]

Thank you for the detailed writeup. Is it correct to assume that reverse M was used in previous years? Also, are the number of dentils inconsistent between year and die?

[MikeKing]

what a great post. Thanks for posting this!!!

[Cladiator]

Thank you for the detailed writeup. Is it correct to assume that reverse M was used in previous years? Also, are the number of dentils inconsistent between year and die?

Absolutely correct. Reverse die M was used on 6 die marriages prior to the 1830 LM1 and all six of these were pre-1830 coins. I'm going to refrain from telling you which six marriages those are off the top of my head as I'm sure I'll get at least one wrong. I will verify the info tonight from home and re-post with what the marriages are. It was quite common for Reverse dies to strike coins in multiple years on the CBH10¢.

 

The dentil count does vary considerably from die to die throughout the series. It's something that many collectors overlook but it can be an excellent diagnostic tool for attribution of a tough coin. It's also not too easy to count them with the coin in hand as the coins are so small. What I do is photograph the coin and print out a blow up of the photo. Then take that photo and count them while marking them off with a red pen as I go.

[Cladiator]

Ok Tom I checked my references for ya...

 

Reverse Die M started life when it began coining the 1829 LM18. It then went on to coin the 1830 LM11 and 1830 LM13. Next it made the 1831 LM3, 1831 LM4 and 1831 LM7. After those six uses it started on the 1832 LM1. This die saw considerable use.

 

The various obverse dies used in the 9 year series had 26 different amounts of dentils ranging from the lowest of 113 to a high of 188. The 188 obverse dentils can be seen on the 1836 LM1 and 1836 LM2 made with Obverse Die #1.

 

The reverse dies used had 24 different amounts of dentils ranging from a low of 108 to a high of 180. You can see the 180 reverse dentil on the 1835 LM11, 1836 LM2 and 1836 LM4 all made with Reverse Die FF.

[AzLarry]

Thanks for the very imformative post, this is why I read the boards.

[JRocco]

Hey clad....

 

Heck of a post buddy, thanks

[Cladiator]

No problemo JRock. I'm going to try to do one of these per weekend. There are 122 die marriages/remarriages so it's gonna be a long term project

[Quizno-migration]

Quite an interesting thread. These half dimes seem like something worthy of study and collection.

[okbustchaser]

Quite an interesting thread. These half dimes seem like something worthy of study and collection.

 

Naaah, those things are too small to study. Try something useful like a bust half.

[Cladiator]

Quite an interesting thread. These half dimes seem like something worthy of study and collection.

 

Naaah, those things are too small to study. Try something useful like a bust half.

Aw! Sacralige!