Long winded story with a bunch of questions – hahaha

[WinstonWare]

(Feel free to skip the story and just look at the pictures and answer the questions if you’de prefer. It’s understable )

 

So for those who don’t know me, I’ve been collecting now for about a year and a half. In that time, I’ve read 5 and ½ numismatic books, watched 2 ANA DVDs, tried to absorb the advice of the experts on the board, but also learned that I am better off letting select others pick out or at least approve of my more expensive coin purchases.

 

That said, I also think it’s important to make some forays into the coin market on my own – I just do it with less expensive coins. I found a new coin store here in Boston. It’s actually been here for 7 months but I haven’t seen it because it’s in a part of town that I don’t frequent.

 

I walked into the new store yesterday and felt instantly welcome for the first time in a coin store. There was a large friendly guy who owned the store and two other older guys who appeared to be there just to talk coins. It was kind of like an old-time barber shop.

 

I walked around the store and spoke with the guy who owned the shop. I found an 1861-O seated half dollar. I have been intrigued by that year/mint half dollar because of the civil war history behind it. The coin was a little lower in grade than the rest of my type set but did fill the niche of being in the price range that I like to purchase on my own. I like the obverse a good deal. The reverse is a bit lighter than I like but not overly so. To better answer my questions, I’ll tell you that the coin was marked $65 and I paid $55:

 

 

Questions:

1) Considering that this is only an image and not an in-hand opinion, do you think this is a problem or problem-free coin?

2) Do you like the coin at this price?

 

I had a few coins that I was going to sell on ebay but decided last night that I would bring them by this store today. I was able to sell 3 of the 4 coins which gave me nearly enough money to purchase the below half dime. Now I’m getting a little out of my element. For those who haven’t held one of these they are tiny – tiny tiny tiny.

 

Questions:

3) Is a half dime half the size of a dime? Man they seem that small.

 

Attempting to grade or even just look for problems was difficult for me. The coins are so small I was amazed that the coins had survived for so long. It threw off my sense of what made a problem on a coin; a slight hit by a half dollar to another half dollar would presumably cause minimal damage, but what if one had a half dollar and a half dime in their pocket? In my mind I was thinking that this could cause significant damage to the half dime but also be an entirely plausible scenario. Anyway, here it is - I apologize for the slightly out of focus image but I just couldn’t quite get a sharp picture:

 

 

Questions

4) Considering that this is only an image and not an in-hand opinion, do you think this is a problem or problem-free coin? Please note the rim weakness/hit in the upper-right area of the reverse.

5) The coin was marked $95 and I paid $90 (most of that on trade in value). Do you like this coin at that price?

6) Any other thoughts, that I may not have thought of about anything in this story…?

 

Thanks so much for any and all thoughts .

[harvey8542]

Answer's

1. A little rim ding but nothing major that I see.

2. I feel you paid about top dollar for this coin.

3. No a half dime is about 15.5 mm and a dime is about 17.9 mm

4. Might have been cleaned at some point.

5. Not in cash depends on what you traded.

6. No

I hope this helps you I to just started a couple months ago and find the people's advice on here priceless when it comes to big purchases.

[okbustchaser]

Actually a half dime is half the size of a dime--just not half the diameter.

 

 

I like both coins...Price wise I think you did ok.

[zrlevin]

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. Yes

5. Yes

6. I think you need to send me your coins to image them for you...

[harvey8542]

Sorry I missed that thank you for correcting me.

[skippy]

Rather than answer your questions one by one, I'll just make a couple remarks.

 

First off, if you like the coins at the prices you paid, then you did well. These are still relatively inexpensive coins, so there's a real limit to how badly you can get burned even if you make a mistake.

 

Second, it's important to develop your eye about what you like. The only way to do that is look at lots of coins and expect to make some mistakes. (That doesn't mean I'm saying you made mistakes on these - it's just a general comment.)

 

From an eye appeal standpoint, I like the half. It looks worn evenly and appropriately, yet still has a lot of detail. I don't like the half dime as much because it has a blotchy appearance, although the detail of the coin is good.

 

As far as what you paid - I don't collect these and I don't know market values on these. But if you overpaid $10-15 but you still like the coin, I think that's no big deal. You have to watch out that you don't overpay by hundreds of dollars for something, though. I have often "overpaid" for a coin that I wanted badly enough.

[WinstonWare]

6. I think you need to send me your coins to image them for you...

 

Your probably right but I keep thinking that I aught to be able to image coins if I just keep trying

[JamminJ]

I like the half dollar, great history behind it and looks like a nice circulated coin. Alternately, I'm not that fond of the half dime, the uneven coloration is distracting.

 

I'm glad you had some fun and found a friendly shop to visit.

[SkyMan]

Rather than answer your questions one by one, I'll just make a couple remarks.

 

First off, if you like the coins at the prices you paid, then you did well. These are still relatively inexpensive coins, so there's a real limit to how badly you can get burned even if you make a mistake.

 

Second, it's important to develop your eye about what you like. The only way to do that is look at lots of coins and expect to make some mistakes. (That doesn't mean I'm saying you made mistakes on these - it's just a general comment.)

 

From an eye appeal standpoint, I like the half. It looks worn evenly and appropriately, yet still has a lot of detail. I don't like the half dime as much because it has a blotchy appearance, although the detail of the coin is good.

 

As far as what you paid - I don't collect these and I don't know market values on these. But if you overpaid $10-15 but you still like the coin, I think that's no big deal. You have to watch out that you don't overpay by hundreds of dollars for something, though. I have often "overpaid" for a coin that I wanted badly enough.

 

What he said.

[Stanley]

I like them Winston. The image on the dime is likely not a good of a representation but I have trouble with the small coins too.

 

I think you done ok price wise. Sounds like you had fun and maybe found a coin shop to frequent.

 

I think buying on your own will only increase your level of knowledge and enjoyment of the hobby. Of course it never hurts to have a good mentor in your circle which I happen to know you have one of the best.

 

Perhaps the next half you purchase will have to be a notch better for you to want it.

[James_OldeTowne]

1&2: I really like the half at the price

3: half-dimes were exactly 1/2 the weight of dimes, and they are about 20% smaller in diameter (and thinner)

4&5: the half-dime is lovely, and you paid a proper price for it

[Conder101]

I like both coins. The half dollar is interesting Obv 4 Rev D. This coin was made by the State of Louisiana after they took over the Mint at the end of January 1861 and before they turned it over to the Confederacy.

[TomB]

I like the 1861-O Seated half dollar, but find the reverse wear pattern, in terms of a more heavily worn reverse than obverse, to be odd for this series since this is something that is often seen on CBHs and RE halves. I think the obverse is an F12 and the reverse, with its odd wear pattern, more like a VG8, but I could see the coin being graded as F12. It looks like a problem-free coin to me, but my opinion based upon the single set of images is that $55 was a little too much. Truly, the difference in what I think was a better price is really only a few dollars.

 

I think I like the half dime, but the image is very tough for me to interpret. It appears problem-free and my guess is that it would grade anywhere from VF30 to EF40, but the image is making it mighty difficult for me to determine where in that range I would think appropriate. At $90 I believe you obtained the coin at a fair price, if my impressions of it are correct.

 

We need some images with slightly better contrast.

[WinstonWare]

Thanks Tom. I'm working on the better images...