Album pages for Half Cent varieties - which references?

carabonnair

I see that a group of these are being offered on ebay.

I think that the G numbers might be related to "The United States Half Cents. from the first year of issue, 1793 to the year when discontinued, 1857. All dates and varieties described and illustrated." Ebenezer Gilbert - 1916. 43 pages

But what are the numbers above each opening? Just curious. The pages aren't mine and I don't collect half cents. I haven't seen these before now.

BillJones

The lower numbers are definitely Gilbert numbers. The upper numbers might be rarity scale estimates. I have no idea whose rarity scale that might be. I learned to collect half cents using Cohen numbers. I owned the Gilbert book at one time but sold it when I sold my die variety collection.

Sonorandesertrat

Send David Lange an email. He has been collecting and researching early coin albums for years, and has written books about them.

carabonnair

@BillJones Thanks for your quick reply. Rarity didn't occur to me. I think you are right, but I notice it is a 1-9 scale, which baffled me.

@Sonorandesertrat I just sent Dave an email. When he was writing his book a few years ago I sent him some Wayte Raymond pages that he didn't have.

I think I would be impressed to see the coins in this collection (and wonder who had them). There can't be a lot of collectors who completed half cents by die variety.