1843 Seated Half with Wild Reverse Die Cracks...

MrEureka

Can't say I remember seeing one like this. Pretty cool, I think.

RichieURich

For some reason, a lot of 1843 half dollars have die cracks, several different varieties.
The pic below is of a similar 1843 half, but not the same as MrEureka's coin.

Smudge

Looks like that die needed to be replaced, but if it was no more of those cool die crack coins. Nice one there.

291fifth

I wonder how many strikes they could get before a die like that started coming apart?

LanceNewmanOCC

.
nice rev crack pattern!

those anvil dies really got hammered. har har.
.

yosclimber

From Wiley-Bugert (1993):

This date is one of the authors' favorites. It has numerous repunched dates and almost every tail die is dramatically and differently cracked.

Coinosaurus

At the last Baltimore show Bill Bugert had an exhibit of 1843 halves with cracks. I think he identified about 30 varieties just by the cracks.

ricko

That die looks as if it is close to shattering....a real 'web' of cracks.... Cheers, RickO

Barberian

A later die state of the coin in the OP. Both coins are WB27 aka "Shattered reverse"

TomB

I love these! They remind me of the RE half dollar series and all the shattered or highly cracked dies that can be found.

Zoins

Here are some nice die cracks:

1843 Liberty Seated No Motto Half Dollar
Grade: PCGS MS65+ CAC POP 564/14/1
Cert: PCGS 25582849

NumisOxide

Nice looking half! That shattered reverse is great.

jayPem

Awesome!
Which year is the seated half with the cracks that look like the seams on a baseball?
That one is also super cool..

Zoins

1843 Liberty Seated No Motto Half Dollar Proof
Grade: PCGS PR64 CAC POP 1/1/1
Cert: PCGS 50194426
Pedigree: Dell Loy Hansen

There are only 6-8 known 1843 proof half dollars and one with die cracks belongs to @DLHansen

Given that only 6-8 are known, how were the dies prepared for these? Were these proof only dies or were they polished business strike dies?

Perhaps @Currin or @JBatDavidLawrence have something to add about this one?

mtnman

Mine is a WB-12.

breakdown

I used to own this one. Left facing wing crack to the A in STATES is consistent.

Zoins

Very nice coin @breakdown!

Barberian

@jayPem said:
Awesome!
Which year is the seated half with the cracks that look like the seams on a baseball?
That one is also super cool..

1841-O WB2. Also 1840-O WB9.

Barberian

@breakdown said:

I used to own this one. Left facing wing crack to the A in STATES is consistent.

A WB34 (R3).

Barberian

@Zoins said:
Here are some nice die cracks:

1843 Liberty Seated No Motto Half Dollar
Grade: PCGS MS65+ CAC POP 564/14/1
Cert: PCGS 25582849

Another WB34. A later die state than @breakdown's coin.

Here's a WB35 (R3). It has a triple-punched 43 and a bisecting reverse die crack from K-1 to K-6.

NumisOxide

@Zoins said:
1843 Liberty Seated No Motto Half Dollar Proof
Grade: PCGS PR64 CAC POP 1/1/1
Cert: PCGS 50194426
Pedigree: Dell Loy Hansen

There are only 6-8 known 1843 proof half dollars and one with die cracks belongs to @DLHansen

Given that only 6-8 are known, how were the dies prepared for these? Were these proof only dies or were they polished business strike dies?

Perhaps @Currin or @JBatDavidLawrence have something to add about this one?

Cool coin but how did that coin straight grade with the reverse rim damage at 10 oclock?

Zoins

@coinJP said:

@Zoins said:
1843 Liberty Seated No Motto Half Dollar Proof
Grade: PCGS PR64 CAC POP 1/1/1
Cert: PCGS 50194426
Pedigree: Dell Loy Hansen

There are only 6-8 known 1843 proof half dollars and one with die cracks belongs to @DLHansen

Given that only 6-8 are known, how were the dies prepared for these? Were these proof only dies or were they polished business strike dies?

Perhaps @Currin or @JBatDavidLawrence have something to add about this one?

Cool coin but how did that coin straight grade with the reverse rim damage at 10 oclock?

That's nothing. It could have been net graded to PR64, but even PCGS PR70s can have damage as long as it's not in the focal area.

Here's the text from the PCGS grading page:

https://www.pcgs.com/grades#grade70

PCGS wrote:
The PCGS 70 grading standard does allow for "as minted" defects, as long as those flaws are minor and do not impact the eye appeal of the coin.

And here's an example PCGS PR70 DCAM with a ding at 2 o'clock on the reverse.

NumisOxide

@Zoins said:

@coinJP said:

@Zoins said:
1843 Liberty Seated No Motto Half Dollar Proof
Grade: PCGS PR64 CAC POP 1/1/1
Cert: PCGS 50194426
Pedigree: Dell Loy Hansen

There are only 6-8 known 1843 proof half dollars and one with die cracks belongs to @DLHansen

Given that only 6-8 are known, how were the dies prepared for these? Were these proof only dies or were they polished business strike dies?

Perhaps @Currin or @JBatDavidLawrence have something to add about this one?

Cool coin but how did that coin straight grade with the reverse rim damage at 10 oclock?

That's nothing. It could have been net graded to PR64, but even PCGS PR70s can have damage as long as it's not in the focal area.

Here's the text from the PCGS grading page:

https://www.pcgs.com/grades#grade70

PCGS wrote:
The PCGS 70 grading standard does allow for "as minted" defects, as long as those flaws are minor and do not impact the eye appeal of the coin.

And here's an example PCGS PR70 DCAM with a ding at 2 o'clock on the reverse.

The damage doesn't look "as minted" though. If they minted only 6-8, and 1 proof came out damaged I think they would reject it and melt it down?

Zoins

@coinJP said:

@Zoins said:

@coinJP said:

@Zoins said:
1843 Liberty Seated No Motto Half Dollar Proof
Grade: PCGS PR64 CAC POP 1/1/1
Cert: PCGS 50194426
Pedigree: Dell Loy Hansen

There are only 6-8 known 1843 proof half dollars and one with die cracks belongs to @DLHansen

Given that only 6-8 are known, how were the dies prepared for these? Were these proof only dies or were they polished business strike dies?

Perhaps @Currin or @JBatDavidLawrence have something to add about this one?

Cool coin but how did that coin straight grade with the reverse rim damage at 10 oclock?

That's nothing. It could have been net graded to PR64, but even PCGS PR70s can have damage as long as it's not in the focal area.

Here's the text from the PCGS grading page:

https://www.pcgs.com/grades#grade70

PCGS wrote:
The PCGS 70 grading standard does allow for "as minted" defects, as long as those flaws are minor and do not impact the eye appeal of the coin.

And here's an example PCGS PR70 DCAM with a ding at 2 o'clock on the reverse.

The damage doesn't look "as minted" though. If they minted only 6-8, and 1 proof came out damaged I think they would reject it and melt it down?

Maybe today, but probably not then.

With the PCGS $2 coins, they melted all the non-70s!

jesbroken

That is wild. Unbelieveable that I have never ran across one. Many with small die cracks to the stars or liberty's head and a few to the reverse letters or leaves but no major die cracks, as I for sure would have had one if so. Very nice coin.
Jim

jesbroken

Is this 1840 O LSD the one called baseball seam die cracks? Not mine.
Jim

NumisOxide

No not that one. It's a different cracked reverse die.

NumisOxide

This is the one. Photo from PCGS coin facts.

Zoins

@Barberian said:

@jayPem said:
Awesome!
Which year is the seated half with the cracks that look like the seams on a baseball?
That one is also super cool..

1841-O WB2. Also 1840-O WB9.

Great baseball @coinJP!

Here's the baseball CoinFacts uses for demonstration.

This coin is owned by H. Hinkle from Louisiana and is in the "400 ESPLANADE" Registry Set:

https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/mycoinfacts/1841-o-50c/2433340/35780

H. Hinkle said:
For a lifelong Louisiana resident and coin collector, this set seems like a no brainer...right? I remember when several boxes of treasure coins were unearthed during the Hotel Meridien renovation on Canal Street in 1982. As a child, I got one as a gift, and my collecting interest became as tenacious as Louisiana swamp mud. The history that surrounds the coins struck at the New Orleans Branch Mint is remarkable and I'll include pearls that are interesting. Completing this set will be a difficult task on many levels as some issues simply haven't withstood the test of time...not to mention the financial undertaking this will require. The typical New Orleans issue is usually found poorly struck, heavily circulated, and on average not as eye-appealing as an S-mint Morgan. It'll take a lifetime to complete, but who's in a hurry.

Zoins

Great thread everyone! This is one of my favorites! I'm learning a lot about cool coins in this thread!

LJenkins11

1840's half dollars have some really cool varieties from wild die cracks to a few dramatic double dates and overdates. Definitely my favorite decade for the series.

Barberian

@jesbroken said:
Is this 1840 O LSD the one called baseball seam die cracks? Not mine.
Jim

No. That's a WB-10 "Small O". This is quite common and has some nice die cracks.

The 1840-O "baseball die cracks" is WB-9. Here's CoinJP's photo...

Zoins

Here's another nicely circulated one:

BustDMs

Best I have to offer.