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1839-o half dime with die breaks
FelixNummus
Posts: 2 ✭
Dear numismatic hive mind,
I was about to relegate this piece to the junk box, when I noticed it had neat die breaks on the reverse. A bit of googling, and closer examination, it seems the 1 and 9 of the date have been recut (overstamped) as well (not 100% sure about this, and will re-photograp with raking light, it looks more this way through my loop than in the photo) Any thoughts? Is there a standard no. or ref. for these coins? US coins are not my usual thing, let alone varieties. Thank you in advance for your help, this is my first post in this forum.
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Gerry Fortin does dimes, maybe half dimes, but not my bailiwick.
In the past @MrHalfDime would have answered your question, but sadly he passed away last year.
Yes, it's one of the cool "shattered reverse" varieties in the half dime series.
The other shattered reverses are in 1842, 1843 (2), 1847, 1848 (2) and 1854.
And yes, the 1 and 9 of the date are repunched, with the under digits south - your photo shows this pretty well.
Valentine (1931) called your coin V-2B.
I call your coin V-2c.
It has late die state cracks at I1 (UNITED) and A3 (last A of AMERICA) that most of the shattered V-2B coins do not have.
It is not a very rare variety, but it is not that common, either.
I estimate V-2c is R-5 and V-2B is R-4.
Often V-2B coins are available on ebay.
This coin is #12 (ordered by date) in the "Top 100" die varieties list for Seated Half Dimes that will be announced soon.
You can see all 100 in a PDF, or download an Excel file with the list here:
https://sites.google.com/view/clintcummins/half-dime-attribution-guide
Nice old coin!
@FelixNummus....Welcome aboard...Too bad about the hole in the coin... Cheers, RickO
Welcome to the Forum! Good question and great answer from @yosclimber!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Neat! Thank you thank you @yosclimber - I've just downloaded your .pdf and will digest at more leisure this evening. You've clearly put a huge amount of work into this! How funny that the sloppy work of New Orleans mint 180 years ago has resulted in such an interesting field for collectors today! Again, many thanks!