Neat 1855 Half Dime with clashing & rev bisecting die crack
StrikeOutXXX
Posts: 3,352 ✭✭✭✭✭
White balance is way off, but good enough to get the picture.
Not sure if there is a Valentine number for this, but it had some nice clashing and the reverse bisecting die crack so added it to the neat collection.
Post yours if you got one too for fun.
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"You Suck Award" - February, 2015
Discoverer of 1919 Mercury Dime DDO - FS-101
"You Suck Award" - February, 2015
Discoverer of 1919 Mercury Dime DDO - FS-101
6
Comments
i don't tend to see as many busted up half dimes.
it seems logic would dictate that being SUCH a small coin as well as thin, they could get significantly more coins per die, thus, able to meet quotas from fewer dies and also probably reducing shared/reused dies.
nice bisecter you got there S.O.
That die crack is fantastic, I wonder how long the die lasted after that coin.
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That's a cool die crack. Nice clashes also.
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Liking the die crack - nice half dime.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Cool die crack, a nice one that's easy to spot without magnification.
This is the 1855 V-4a .
I numbered it V-4a with the clashing, V-4 without.
It's V-4 in Valentine's book.
As a bisecting die crack, this one makes the "Top 100" - it's #73 in the list.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1035720/top-100-seated-half-dime-varieties-list-and-112-page-pdf
I have a similar example that is EF-40 in my collection that I bought 3 years ago, but I don't seem to have a photo of it.
It is not rare; often examples can be found on ebay.
There is a similar 1855 variety, V-3, which has a horizontal bisecting die crack - #72 in the Top 100.
It's a bit harder to spot because the die crack is out in the fields and is not protected by the letters and wreath like the V-4a.
Thanks @yosclimber I'll mark it V-4a then. Wasn't sure how in-depth Valentine went with these.
Easy to spot without magnification I suppose - these were the auction pictures over the weekend I won it at. The venue did sort of have a zoom feature, but it wasn't super helpful. I doubt many bothered to zoom in based on the regular pictures.
"You Suck Award" - February, 2015
Discoverer of 1919 Mercury Dime DDO - FS-101
By any chance, did any of the mints keep records of their dies for the different coins and how many strikes they averaged or any dies that were abnormal in their longevity? Just curious.
Jim
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Interesting die cracks. My example has strong clashing but no cracks.
Neat half dime!
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tons of that info on this forum along with a lot of those transcribed docs burdette is getting from the archives. i THINK he said they are going up on NNP.
i really don't recall any of it tbh though.
Valentine's book is actually quite good, somewhat amazing for 1931.
It has yet to be surpassed, although we are working on it!
Valentine description.
The Valentine V-4 plate, from the first edition - the crack is easy to see.
The plates in the reprint editions are much fuzzier.
There is a free PDF copy of Valentine's book on the web:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b460918&view=1up&seq=5
And I have plate scans from the first edition on my web page.
Obvious die clash, both sides... and that die crack is close to terminal I would think. Cheers, RickO