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The Return of the Bearded Goddess...

Started by gedis3,

35 posts in this topic

gedis3

gedis3

Posted
Posted

Most of the regulars here know the background, but for the newer members and those with short term memory problems, a refresher:

 

I have been unknowingly sitting on an 1807 Capped Bust Half, Overton O-111B "Bearded Goddess" for about 14 years and didn't realize it until this past February when I dug out an old box containing some of my coin collection that had worked it's way to the back of the closet. Through an internet search and the input of some of the CBH experts here on the NGC forums, I learned that the "drool" hanging from her chin actually was a good thing... smile.gif

 

I took it to the ANA Money Show in Charlotte to have NGC take a look at it, and during initial quick review at the show it was shot down, or "body bagged" for certification by NGC. One of the members here on the NGC board, board name "Coin" a/k/a John happens to live near me and offered to let me piggy back it in with his NCS submission to get it encapsulated, attributed, and details graded. I said what the heck and sent it in.

 

Once it got to NCS, they decided that it was marginal enough that it should get a second look at NGC for certification, so they took it over there and guess what...

 

...it made the cut!

 

It is now encapsulated in an NGC Holder, Graded VF 35 and was given the O-111B "Bearded" Designation, making it one of 12 in that grade and one of 23 now showing up in the census! (was sitting at 11 and 22 last week, so I'm guessing mine is the one that bumped up the numbers this morning.)

 

Here is a quick pic of her in her new plastic tomb:

 

1762885-goddess.JPG

 

I'll work on getting some better pics later today...

 

Special thanks to John a/k/a "Coin" for talking me into submitting it and allowing me to piggy back on his order.

1762885-goddess.JPG.42196baf556274b17836b6bacec29747.JPG

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MBA101

MBA101

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I don't quite remember what the problem was...Scratches?

 

Anyway, congrats and post some BIG pics!

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gedis3

gedis3

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I don't quite remember what the problem was...Scratches?

 

Anyway, congrats and post some BIG pics!

 

Correct, had some light "slider" scratches from where it had been jostled while living loose in a box with some other coins, prior to my obtaining it.

 

I was also told it had some hairlines from a very old cleaning... not sure why they decided to go ahead and certify it, maybe because of the rarity -- but I'm pretty sure I lost some points on the grading because of the light obverse scratches.

 

Here are some larger pics from prior to encapsulation:

 

bearded4.JPG

 

Bearded5a.JPG

 

Bearded6a.JPG

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rbrown4

rbrown4

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George,

 

Congratulations on the success story with getting this coin in a holder as well as possessing the coin itself. It is a very nice and interesting coin. I'm impressed. 893applaud-thumb.gif

 

Rey

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jesbroken

jesbroken

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Way to go George, finally a good story from the TPG'S. Glad this worked out in your favor, especially with an R5 coin. The TPG's have gone a little too far with scratches on 150 year and older coins. Great luck.

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gedis3

gedis3

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You will make much more money at auction now.

 

10-4, Roger, and Affirmative on that Tom

 

I'm REALLY happy with the way it all turned out, the journey was a series of ups and downs, but it looks as though I will be able to seriously upgrade my Mercury Dime collection and pay off a bill or two with the proceeds from this "found" money once I let her go.

 

20 cent listing day on eBay tomorrow... I think I am going to let her go before I get too attached.

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gedis3

gedis3

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Did you buy it knowing that it was a bearded variety? It seems like the dealer would have known that.

 

Nope...

 

It's one of those legendary "estate sale" finds. In 1993 I bought a cigar box with about 50 or 60 coins in it, most of them culls and world coins -- but down in the bottom was this coin, 2 other CBH's that were pretty worn out, and a 1921 Peace Dollar.

 

The auction was overrun with dealers, but the deceased man was a serious gold coin collector, and they were jockeying and bidding on the massive amount of slabbed and gold coins that were in the estate, and had either overlooked or dismissed the Hav-A-Tampa box on a table with other small antiques and collectibles next to the "good" coins. I picked up the box for about $50 if I recall correctly... I bought some other (non-coin) things at the sale and don't remember exactly what I paid, but the total for everything was less than $200, because that's all the cash I carried on me when I went to auctions to keep from getting in trouble with the wife.

 

When I got home, I took the US coins out, rinsed them in denatured alcohol, and mounted them in 2x2's -- took a short inventory and noted it as an 1807 Half Dollar (I had no clue about varieties -- all I had was a Pocket Black Book and no Internet) I was sorta bummed about the scratches, they looked a little worse than they do now thanks to 14 years in storage, and I suspect they came from the line of old ladies that kept coming up and shaking the box. I was pleased with the 1921 Peace Dollar because even though pretty worn, it alone "booked" higher than what I had paid for the entire box. I then tucked them into my non-mercury coin box and put them in the back of the closet.

 

Fast forward to this past February when I laid hands on the box again cleaning out the closet during a remodel and decided to see what I had in the box and what they were worth. I had been selling stuff on eBay and figured I maybe could get rid of some of them and upgrade my Mercury collection. I typed in "1807 Capped Bust Half Dollar" on Google, and it eventually took me took me to a thread here on the NGC Forums where some members were chatting about a "Bearded Goddess" and had a picture -- I took a second look at the coin in my hand and realized it had that funky drool coming off her chin too. I did some more digging now that I knew she had a name, and discovered I had something VERY special.

 

Amazing, huh?

 

I'll bet a lot of people here will be looking a bit more closely at the next cigar box they see at an estate auction. smile.gif

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gedis3

gedis3

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Way to cool of a coin!! How much are those drooling women?

 

2007 Red Book: VF 20 = $1250; EF 40 = $2600

 

April 2007 Coin Values Magazine: VF 20 = $2000; EF 40 = $4000

 

The Bearded Goddess variety has an R.5 rarity index, so it commonly goes "above book" at auction depending on eye appeal.

 

The scratches on mine are not very distracting to the naked eye, but they do become readily visible under magnification in good lighting at certain angles.

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MAULEMALL

MAULEMALL

Posted
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Way to cool of a coin!! How much are those drooling women?

 

2007 Red Book: VF 20 = $1250; EF 40 = $2600

 

April 2007 Coin Values Magazine: VF 20 = $2000; EF 40 = $4000

 

The Bearded Goddess variety has an R.5 rarity index, so it commonly goes "above book" at auction depending on eye appeal.

 

The scratches on mine are not very distracting to the naked eye, but they do become readily visible under magnification in good lighting at certain angles.

Thats awesome...Congratulations thumbsup2.gif
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James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

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In the other thread, I stated:

 

First of all, Welcome to our friendly little neighborhood!

 

Congratulations on a FANTASTIC find! It is a Bearded Goddess, and in the high VF range for details. The images are blurry, but I venture to guess this coin is worth in the thousands of dollars.

 

Treat it well!

 

I stand by those comments, particularly in light of the NGC certification! In my opinion, this coin will bring $3500 - $4000 at a major auction.

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gedis3

gedis3

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Thanks James --

 

You nailed it, as usual!

 

Amazing how a little bit of plastic just about doubled the value... isn't it?

 

Even more amazing is how this variety only gets 3 "Display" points in the NGC registry.

 

Can anyone here explain the reasons behind that? I'm sure that some thought has gone into that decision, I'm just curious as to what the reasons are.

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okbustchaser

okbustchaser

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Can anyone here explain the reasons behind that? I'm sure that some thought has gone into that decision, I'm just curious as to what the reasons are.

 

Since I don't participate in the registry maddness I don't know for sure, but my guess would be that display status is based on the fact that the Bearded Goddess is merely a die state of a particular die marriage (O-111) and not actually a different variety of the 1807. However, it would receive registry points for being the 50 over 20 reverse variety if you chose to place it there,

 

Of course, NGC (and PCGS for that matter) do just the opposite for the 1823 "broken" and "patched" 3 when the patched is merely a later die state of the broken 3. So... confused-smiley-013.gif

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gedis3

gedis3

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That makes sense, okbustchaser --

 

I don't play the registry "game" either, in fact -- the Goddess is the first TPG slabbed coin I have ever owned.

 

I can see the appeal of the Registry though -- competition and all that, plus it makes a nice organized online method of tracking your slabbed coin collection and sharing it with the community.

 

Maybe if I hit Powerball I'll have all my Mercs slabbed so I can play too, most of them with the exception of the Key Dates are in 50ish or better... I transferred the best of each type I own into 2x2's a while back, most of them have nice album toning because I kept them in Whitmans since I was a kid. Always on the hunt for upgrades, I'll be reinvesting some of the money from the sale of the Goddess into a few Mercs, heck -- I might even get a slabbed one!

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gedis3

gedis3

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For those with interest in this particular variety, there is also a NGC AU55 Bearded Goddess in the Heritage Sale on May 8th in St. Louis... that makes 2 that will be on the block in the same sale.

 

Here's another link to the PCGS VF35:

 

http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=434&Lot_No=692

 

Here's the link to the second one:

 

http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=434&Lot_No=695

 

The AU 55 is one of two in that grade -- the highest grade given to a Bearded Goddess by NGC.

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okbustchaser

okbustchaser

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There usually seems to be 1 or 2 for sale at any given time. It hasn't seemed to slow down prices, though. frown.gif

 

IMO, the BG is the most over-hyped coin in the capped bust half series. If you want a challenge then find an example of the 1807 O-111 WITHOUT the die crack. (and then send it to me--I will gladly trade you a BG for it,)

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okbustchaser

okbustchaser

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If I can get it for the price of a BG in the same grade then yes, I will happily slip you a little something--just for reminding me that R Zomes was selling his piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't hold your breath. wink.gif

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MBA101

MBA101

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That is not what they called it. Looks like you may just see the beginning of the break, but where does the O-111 end and the 111A begin? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

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okbustchaser

okbustchaser

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Probably should have explained in my edit but for some reason the link took me to a past sale of a BG the first time. I posted that it had the break before I looked at the date of the sale. When I refreshed I saw the correct lot which is indeed the 111 not the "a" model.

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gedis3

gedis3

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Jeepers, that's gonna be a mondo Bust Half sale in St. Louis...

 

Interesting to see the O-111 for sale as well, I musta jumped over it this AM when I was browsing.

 

I remember a discussion ATS a while back about the so-called "Prime" O-111's, --some people think they don't exist -- cool to see one on the market. I'd be interested to learn where the line is drawn between the O-111A and O-111B, I have not heard a clear explanation just yet. Is it described in the Overton Book?

 

I tend to agree about the "hyped" nature of the BG -- my guess is having it's own slot in the Red Book and having a well known nickname (heck, we are even abbreviating it now...) has done a lot for the value of this variety, there are other R5 coins out there that don't enjoy the same premiums because they just don't have those things going for them.

 

The BG has an odd nexus of things going for it -- first year for the type, the 50/20, the prominent die cracks... (don't forget about the one running through the stars, too)

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