I did it yet AGAIN. Cherrypicked myself! (Half Dime) Update 10/30

ms70

When I started collecting half dimes I started to accumulate them without much attention to varieties. As time passed and my education of the series expanded, I became much more interested in them, ultimately attempting the goal of the complete variety registry set. I think this is the 4th time I found a variety in my existing collection....

I focus on just a couple at a time and tonight I decided to start searching for the 1848 Large Date FS-301. By now I've learned to examine my coins first.....and there it was....and here it is:

AU55. You can see another "8" between the 4 and the second 8. It's a variety of the Large Date example which apparently had the die punched with a larger date intended for the dime.

It'll be going out next week to our host for variety attribution. Like the Staples commercial says, "That was easy!"

Time for a celebratory drink!!

oih82w8

Nice looking coin! The Large date (PCGS #: 4339) for this year is available without paying for the FS Number, unless you really want it.

ms70

@oih82w8 said:
Nice looking coin! The Large date (PCGS #: 4339) for this year is available without paying for the FS Number, unless you really want it.

Thank you. 4339 is what it's currently holdered as and was (until now) a duplicate 4339 in my collection. I bought it as a more attractive example but I kept the previous coin which is XF45. Because of my OCD I prefer the attribution on the holder but it's also necessary for me as I play the registry game. So.....once attributed the 55 will move into the empty 38737 variety spot while the 45 will replace it in the 4339 spot.

Here's my XF45:

ricko

That is fun... when one finds a little surprise already in the collection.... Nice find and nice coin...Cheers, RickO

CaptHenway

@ms70 said:
When I started collecting half dimes I started to accumulate them without much attention to varieties. As time passed and my education of the series expanded, I became much more interested in them, ultimately attempting the goal of the complete variety registry set. I think this is the 4th time I found a variety in my existing collection....

I focus on just a couple at a time and tonight I decided to start searching for the 1848 Large Date FS-301. By now I've learned to examine my coins first.....and there it was....and here it is:

AU55. You can see another "8" between the 4 and the second 8. It's a variety of the Large Date example which apparently had the die punched with a larger date intended for the dime.

It'll be going out next week to our host for variety attribution. Like the Staples commercial says, "That was easy!"

Time for a celebratory drink!!

I don't recall ever seeing an example of that repunched date!

DIMEMAN

They are both Large Date...right. Just one is also a RPD.

ms70

@CaptHenway said:

@ms70 said:

I don't recall ever seeing an example of that repunched date!

I've never seen one either and you have certainly seen WAY more half dimes than me. I got it years back when I wasn't paying close enough attention.

ms70

@DIMEMAN said:
They are both Large Date...right. Just one is also a RPD.

That is correct.

CaptHenway

@ms70 said:

@CaptHenway said:

@ms70 said:

I don't recall ever seeing an example of that repunched date!

I've never seen one either and you have certainly seen WAY more half dimes than me. I got it years back when I wasn't paying close enough attention.

There is an old saying: “It’s better to be lucky than good!”

DIMEMAN

Don't feel bad I have done the same thing before. It actually makes you feel good. And then you go thru all your coins again looking for another variety, which means you get to look at all your coins again. Another plus.

Kliao

Wow never seen one of these before. And that date really is large!

yosclimber

Nice photo of the RPD.
My understanding is that this RPD is visible on high grade, early die state examples of the V-1.
So it is similar to the 1849 / Far 6 V-2, where the under digits are visible on high grade early die state coins.

Above is another example of the RPD - the V-1 MS-66 ex-Gardner.
Yours shows the under digit a bit better.

Later on, when the reverse has a long vertical die crack,
it appears the obverse die was lapped and the RPD is no longer visible.
This is the V-1a MS-64+ ex-Simpson.
With the lapping, you can see how the digits are shallower and there appears to be a bigger distance
from the 8 to the dentils.
But you can see the first 8 still has the base showing through its upper loop like the earlier die state.

@MrHalfDime would have been sure to post up on this if he was still able.
He wrote an article in the Gobrecht Journal #125 (2016):
A Closer Look at the 1848 "Large Date" Half Dime, Setting the record straight, once and for all
Unfortunately I do not have a copy of this article, or I would be quoting it here.

golden

That sure is a Large Date.

ms70

@golden said:
That sure is a Large Date.

I never understood why the "medium date" isn't called "small date".

yosclimber

@ms70 said:

@golden said:
That sure is a Large Date.

I never understood why the "medium date" isn't called "small date".

Valentine (1931) did call the other varieties for 1848 "small date".
It's mostly a question of whether you want small vs. large to be just for that year,
or whether you want consistent sizes across several years.
This is more an issue for mint mark sizes, because date sizes do not vary that much on LS half dimes.

ms70

UPDATE:

PCGS attribution is complete & they agreed! It is indeed FS-301 as we all knew...... with a bonus.....

.....as being the top pop! I'm delighted to say the least!

ThreeCentSilverFL

Congrats, beautiful half dime.

yosclimber

We have discussed the early die state of the 1848 V-1 with the RPD visible.
In a later die state (what I call V-1a), there is a crack from E2 down through L and M2.
In the latest die state that I have seen (what I call V-1b), there is a second crack, from L to A4, I3 and the left stem.
Above is an MS-65 example of the V-1b that sold a couple of times at Heritage in 2007.