1840 Half Dime: Name your grade and value

[RGT]

These posts have been going over well lately so I thought I would try one with my newest purchase. The pictures below are as close to life-like as I can get. I did take some with more direct lighting that really brought the color out. I liked them but decided that they looked like I had tweaked the saturation and contrast, even though they came right out of the camera.

 

So, what grade would you give it and what would you pay if you were looking for something like this for your collection?

 

[EZ_E]

That is a superb half dime! And I'm not being nice, either! I'd say that it is at least a 63 but that is probably undergraded. It is worth a premium to whatever the going price is. It lists at $1200 in the Numismatic News guide in 63.

[lkenefic]

 

That is one pretty half dime!! I'd say 64...and my bank account doesn't go that high

[RGT]

Here's another obverse shot that shows the color better but doesn't look overexposed.

 

I like this one enough that I may have to make it my icon coin.

 

[rexcat]

As always it’s a tough call from photos, but I’ll go with MS 63/64 with fantastic eye appeal regardless of the grade.

 

Fantastic pickup!

 

The 1840 half dime has both “no drapery” and “drapery” varieties with the drapery variety being the rarer of the two in MS grades so it’s very pricey, also add in the nice tone I feel this coin could sell for $1000 give or take a hundred in a MS63 holder and in a MS64 holder maybe $1500, $1600 if your lucky.

 

I could be under a lot, I don’t know the demand at this time for seated coins other then the higher mintages years for type collecting, (which a 1840 no drapery would be the right priced coin for a type example of a no drapery half dime ).

[Fergie]

MS 63 TPG, value of a 64.

 

What are the little tiny marks on the coin ?

From the die surfaces ?

 

Very choice eye appeal matches the era of the coin quite nicely.

Super nice.

 

Nice pick up RGT

 

I would give it a 64 without those tiny marks.

I am not a pro grader, might 4 anyway I guess.

 

See ya,

Fergie.

[EZ_E]

WoW...! I love that coin...bigtime!

[Hoot]

 

I grade it $1300.

 

Hoot

[James_OldeTowne]

I'll guess it's a commercial MS-61 (though I don't believe the coin is "UNC" - looks like an old-time slider AU-58). Greysheet bid in MS-60 is 310, but if you'd care to add an "O" mintmark , it jumps near $3000 . However, this coin is well above average, worth a 50% premium. I'd hope to buy it at $450, and sell it for $550.

[relicsncoins]

Looks like a 62, with superior eye appeal.

 

JJ

[physics-fan3.14]

My first reaction was AU-58, but I don't know this series at all. It appears to be just slightly worn on her leg, but that could be something typical of these. After looking at the pictures more, I am going to call it a MS-63.

[zrlevin]

I'll guess it's a commercial MS-61 (though I don't believe the coin is "UNC" - looks like an old-time slider AU-58). Greysheet bid in MS-60 is 310, but if you'd care to add an "O" mintmark , it jumps near $3000 . However, this coin is well above average, worth a 50% premium. I'd hope to buy it at $450, and sell it for $550.

 

I agree with James. IT looks like there is a bit of rub on the legs and chest to me.

[RGT]

Thanks for all of the replies. I tried to capture the color as well as he surface quality in my pictures but I may have come up a bit short. This coin is in an ANACS AU58 holder and I think that is the correct grade. It's difficult to see the rub from a static image but you would see it in hand where you could rotate the coin in the light.

 

I picked this one up on eBay where the seller used terribly out of focus images. Fortunately, I found where it had sold on Heritage last July. It brought just over $400 at Heritage and I paid about $100 less than that. My max bid was much closer to the Heritage price and I was pleasantly surprised to get it at the level that I did.

 

Yes, it's rotated upside down in the holder which is a bit annoying. I have sent ANACS two three cent silvers since they changed holders and they both were slabbed rotated way off. I guess the guys that stick these in slabs are so used to stuffing Morgans that they can't get these tiny coins in straight with their fat fingers.

[MunkyMan95]

It's got some wear, so it's correctly graded, but I could see it in a 63 slab. The color more than makes up for the grade. AWESOME coin that I'm sure wouldn't sell for less than double what you paid in the properly-advertised venue.

[EZ_E]

 

If you ever want to sell it for a profit....

 

I love that coin!!!

[rbrown4]

Totally agree with all of the above comments. A superb looking coin and quite a find. Good Job.

 

 

rbrown4

[toyonakataro]

My first impression I got from your image was MS62, but it took me only a few seconds whitch coin you are posting here

Yes, I knew it was from Heritage and I knew it was listed on eBay......it's just that I forgot to place bid on it and I was also thinking of bidding on it at around $400

 

 

 

I recently got a pretty toned 39 from eBay(although not as nice as yours) and will post somewhere after I shoot some images.

[James_OldeTowne]

At $300, you got a bargain - very nearly a steal! I really do think it could fetch $500.

 

I'm glad that ANACS graded it properly as a slider.

[lkenefic]

wow...58? I think it'd be a slider for MS...L

[Hoot]

"This coin is in an ANACS AU58 holder and I think that is the correct grade. It's difficult to see the rub from a static image but you would see it in hand where you could rotate the coin in the light."

 

Very true. The coin looks MS to me from the images - such are the travails of the digital world. No substitute for a coin in-hand.

 

You did exceedingly well.

 

Here's my 58 for comparison (now in an NGC holder):

 

 

Hoot

[RGT]

Hoot, that's another great looking 1840. However, yours seems to have lost its drapery and her shield is starting to tip. I think these two should be together, so please ship that one to me imediately.

 

It's interesting to see how much they reworked the hub that year to modify the design. Miss Liberty seems to have bulked up a bit. Look at the difference in those biceps. And I actually never noticed before that the no drapery design doesn't have a pendant.