A Nutty perspective to the 2022 WFOM

pursuitofliberty

Sitting at the airport on Friday Night in Chicago, nursing a beer and being interrupted by texts that I am also feeding in to, I thought I would start a short show report from my perspective, which i know I won't finish until at least tomorrow morning, hung over from jet lag and nursing Italian Roast in my private office. FWIW ... that's how the writing went

After an o’dark thirty start to make a 5:30am departure, I arrived in Chicago at made it to my hotel by about 3:20pm local time, and instead of heading to the floor for 30 minutes or so, I freshened up and headed to the Corn Roast (a mostly informal dinner, show and tell, and meet and greet for the Bust Half Nut Club members and their guests). I met Jim @OKbustchaser in the Lobby as I had invited him along as my guest. Jim is very interested in the club, and although he is not a member (yet) I was hopeful he would meet some other Nuts and get a feel for the comradery and depth of the club.

Anyway, it was a great showing, and we enjoyed a well-catered dinner (thanks Lance and Keith!), good banter and some great show and tell, stories and coin swapping. I got to see a couple of my friends and started some new friendships as well. FWIW, I am the newest Nut (at this moment), having graduated to full insanity from Associate insanity status last month , so I am still getting my feel for the group somewhat.

Wednesday morning was a wonderful JRCS show hosted by the animated and positively energetic Brad Karoleff @BustDMs , where tributes were also paid to the late John McCloskey, with his lovely wife Norma in attendance. The main topic after was a wonderful presentation on Bust Quarters, with an emphasis near the end on Proof issues from Barry Sunshine and Dr. Chuck Link. Just a wonderful meeting with a packed room, and I am glad I didn’t miss it!

I hit the show afterwards and walked to some of my favorite dealers, searching for new treasures. I really didn’t find much that suited my taste and budget, but did get a chance to view some wonderful coins, talk and reconnect with friends and dealers I know … and do one of the most important things I had on my list for the day … preview the lots for Sheridan Downey’s MB#54 sale.

I also had a chance to meet Kendrick @Kliao in person on his last day helping his local dealer before heading off to college. A very pleasant young man, and I am sure he is destined for great things, both in our hobby, and into the world ahead.

There were so many great coins in Sheridan’s sale that I finally went back to my room about 4pm to clear my mind and get ready to place some bids. I could have easily wanted to go after a dozen coins, but alas, that is not within the boundaries I have set for myself. I settled on four lots. Went back and forth 17 times from Sunday and decided on numbers. More on how I did, and an interesting situation there in a moment (skip all the way down if that’s all you want to know).

For anyone who has participated, Sheridan’s Auctions are a Mail, Internet, eMail situation that almost always has some updates after the Auction actually closes, as he and his team goes through all of the last minute, non-internet Bids. I have learned to make the bids and shut down the feed. I can always figure out what I won and what the bill is later.

This year was easy, because my good friend Dave @drddm had invited me to tag along to a dinner at The Capital Grille with Blake @ebriker , Brad and several other Nuts, and I needed to head that way. A wonderful dinner with good wine and banter … oh, and that guy Brad … he really is kind of like the Energizer Bunny!

Anyway, everyone made it home safe, and we all made it to the BHNC meeting in the morning, where the worst part of the whole show transpired. For the first time ever (I have been told) we had coffee and donuts brought in for the meeting, and our resident pro’ photographer and all around Bust aficionado (and my good friend) Lance @lkeigwin accidentally spilled the coffee on his right hand and fingers. I will let him tell that story if he wishes (his version will be much more colorful, I’m sure!), but suffice it to say, he did seek medical attention after the meeting (thankfully!) and the blistering was pretty severe.

I had another stop I wanted to take care of, as @HeatherBoyd , who I actually failed to meet in person, had given me some advice on a coin that had been in a PCGS Shield Holder with a TV and a known provenance, and which someone had crossed to NGC (Why? I have no idea! It wasn’t even an upgrade candidate IMO).

Anyway, on her suggestion from our messages here on the board, I went to the Meet the Expert event and discussed the situation with Steve Feltner. Steve was wonderful … and I enjoyed having a few minutes to chat with him. Very, very helpful, and I also showed him a few other Bust Halves we discussed that will hopefully be in PCGS holders sometime soon(ish).

Thank you Heather, and thank you PCGS for putting that event! I think that made a very positive impact on how the entire PCGS experience is perceived, and I had several friends comment on their experience with that as well. Chris asked me to do a 15 second snap of my experience on the fly, and my appreciation for everyone working the show with your team was sincere.

Somewhere in here I am skipping over meeting the venerable Charmy Harper @ThePennyLady … and there may be a picture of me somewhere that shows up . She showed me a wonderful 1870 Indian Cent Aluminum trail piece she had recently added to her collection (gorgeous example!) which brought up some great memories of the first time I saw such a thing ... 32 years ago.

Anyway, back to the show. Haha, I’m still skipping over it, but it was time to write that check!

Oh wait, let’s skip forward first!

Friday was great too. I had a chance to talk with @GoBust a bit while hanging out with Phil at EAC (who is one of my favorite people to chat with, has wonderful coins, and who did something I won’t forget), and also got the talk a little more with Dave Kahn and his lovely daughter Melissa, where I finally ran out of most of the cash I had brought, as they had a couple new items in their case that I found worthwhile. In fact, one of those would have made the show worthwhile, all on it's own.

Also, although he may not see this, if Richard from the Hillsdale (?) Coin Club (and the Chicago Coin Club) that I sat next to at Starbucks on Friday while having a small coffee and a quick bite see’s this … it was a pleasure to meet you, and thank you again for the chat. I hope you get that road trip we discussed between coins and see all three of the NW capitals and Crater Lake, as that would be a wonderful trip indeed!

Overall, I had a great time with great people! I sold three and bought seven, and although my war chest is severely emptied, at least for the day, I am wonderfully happy.

Okay, back to Sheridan’s MB#54.

Somewhere through dinner on Wednesday I knew … I had won all four. Coupled with the dinner bill, the outstanding wine (thanks Charlie!) and that energizer bunny guy talking up my ear … I had that feeling of, Gulp! Well then, I wasn’t quite expecting that!

But at the same time, I felt good. Unless I had missed something, I had secured four fantastic coins, three of which were near perfect additions to my growing collection of dirty crusty girls, and one as another of a few “centerpiece” coins I have been able to add as complementary examples.

I’m only showing one this morning, and it has the twist in the story in the MB#54 that I hinted at in the beginning.

I had written down a number. I was only going to bid once, bid to win, shut down and walk away.

As I went to type it in for this lot, a little voice in my head said, “If you lose this by $100. you are going to kick yourself for weeks.” So, at that last second, I added 100. to the price I typed. In the end I won the lot by $14. Do the math. I would have cried!

Without further ado, with images by the renowned Lance Keigwin, Lot #75 in the MB#54, an 1813 O-108 (which is technically the potentially more difficult, latest shown state for 108a), that Sheridan described as;

"Delicious iridescent toning fails to obscure the coin’s vibrant luster. If you enjoy bust halves you will love this 1813. Struck from clashed dies, the surfaces are free of circulation ticks. A double profile at Liberty’s nose adds character. My only question: why not a gold CAC sticker?"

I’m okay with the grade, and the sticker. I love her!

ThreeCentSilverFL

I like it!

OKbustchaser

It was great meeting you, Todd, as well as several other Nuts Tuesday night. Thanks again for inviting me.

I loved that '13 you got and I contributed to costing you some money on it.

DennisH

Beautiful 1813!

U1chicago

Awesome coin and a nice report!

Kliao

It was great to finally meet you in person Todd. A great person to talk to and has an excellent eye for bust halves. Nice show report too.

ajaan

Thank you for using paragraphs.

pcgscacgold

Great report. That is a beautiful looking coin. Congrats on the pick up.

LanceNewmanOCC

@pursuitofliberty

i didn't read the entire thing, just curious, is that a scarce marriage or die state as i'm not used to seeing those feathers clashed in front of the neck/portrait? perhaps not many 13s are posted?

lovely coin and images either way!

Pnies20

Sounds like you had fun. Glad you won all four, even if it hurt The pocket book 😂

pursuitofliberty

@LanceNewmanOCC

Couple part answer here, since you asked.

The 1813 O-108 is an R.3, so since that is the lowest Rarity number for the three currently recognized states of this marriage, the Die Marriage is an R.3. An early Die State for the 108 would also be considered Die State 108.1 for those that study the Die Marriage progression. Sometimes only one State is recognized. More than a few Marriages have nine or more.

When talking about Die States on this Marriage, the 108.2 is considered 108a, as is this coin (which is technically a 108.3). The 108.3 is the last currently documented state of the 108, and while we (the BHNC) are not 100% sure, but we are pretty confident the 108.3 is the rarest of the three, pushing closer to R.5 as a Die State.

An interesting and important note on Die States that I didn't realize when I first started studying them almost two years ago. Because Die Clashing is so common and tends to fade or be lapped as the progression continues, the BHNC does not use those for Die State markers. We also don't use doubled profiles (which this coins has) as they happen once, and then the Dies in that State may strike a hundred or more coins after.

Anyway, using die clashes could change in the future, but for now we use die cracks, die chips, tooling marks and severe polishing and lapping to help define the states. Sometimes even the wear of the die can cause elongated stars, disappearing dentils and other issues, which, when notable, are also used.

Anyone interested in the study of Capped Bust Halves should look into the "Die State Progressions of the Capped Bust Half Dollar, Die Varieties 1807-1836" published by the BHNC this year. It is available on David Kahn's website, both in print and .pdf form.

pursuitofliberty

@Pnies20 said:
Sounds like you had fun. Glad you won all four, even if it hurt The pocket book 😂

Was glad to see you got a couple good ones too, even if you were off being heralded with medals and praise

Missed seeing you though. Hopefully next year or maybe at FUN.

I hope you scrape up enough for that other one I sent pictures of ... it's a "Paul Coin", for sure.

Catbert

Wow, Todd. What a informative and interesting accounting. Someday we will meet and raise a glass. FUN?

I really like your new coin. So many interesting features. I would enjoy you posting a "top 5" busties in your extensive collection and why you find them to be so.

Thank you for your post!

Pnies20

@pursuitofliberty said:

@Pnies20 said:
Sounds like you had fun. Glad you won all four, even if it hurt The pocket book 😂

Was glad to see you got a couple good ones too, even if you were off being heralded with medals and praise

Missed seeing you though. Hopefully next year or maybe at FUN.

I hope you scrape up enough for that other one I sent pictures of ... it's a "Paul Coin", for sure.

>

I’ll definitely be at FUN. It’s a great show!

I emailed him about the coin. He’s gotta wait to see if it sold.

kaz

Thanks for such an interesting report about your experiences. That's a great looking half!

ricko

@pursuitofliberty ... That is a very interesting report and a really nice coin. Congratulations on ALL your wins. Cheers, RickO

LukeMarshall

I really like the Clashing on that Bust Half, and thank you for the detailed report of the Show!