Down the rabbit hole, a Gold guy starts a Capped Bust Half Dollar set

pcgscacgold

I posted a comment Saturday about wanting to collect CBH's and not too long later I received a message from @pursuitofliberty . Things took off from there. He has a wealth of knowledge and spent a lot of time with me. He has continued to share so much information over the last few days (messages, emails, phone call). I can't thank him enough for getting my collection off and running with the first 4 shown. The 5th coin (1836 O-112 Bar Dot) was purchased from a recommended dealer specializing in eye appealing coins.

Here are the first 5 coins that I have acquired (who knows where it will end). Several of these have been owned by multiple forum members. These are all very different from one another. I need to get them in hand so I can determine where this set goes. I have some ideas from recent postings but will wait until I have analyzed these coins in hand. Feel free to comment on/critique the coins. I am learning. I look forward to May and August of 2024 when I can actually research a number of coins in person at big shows.

1923-105 (R1) AU55 non-CAC. Normal 3 CBH#1 I really like the look of this coin. At AU55 I think it is accurately graded with the two marks visible. I can't wait to see this one in hand.


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1824-108 (R3) AU55 non-CAC. Normal CBH#2. From TV I like this one the most. I am hoping in hand is similar. Could see myself searching out similar ones to this in the future.

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1827-126 (R2) AU58 non-CAC Sq Base 2 CBH#3. Very dark TV's. This will help me gauge the look in hand vs a very dark TV for future buys.

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1827-117 (R3) AU55 non-CAC. Sq Base 2 CBH#4. Dipped, probably. Caught my eye enough to add it. CAC does seem to sticker dipped CBH's. I like the look and will probably end up with more like this.


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1836-112 Bar Dot variety ( R1 ) AU58CAC CBH #5 My first CAC Bust Half Dollar and it is a beauty. Weak strike but I love the color and luster on this one.


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More to come very soon.

OKbustchaser

And another one bites the dust.

Congrats on a great start. Todd (pursuitofliberty) knows his stuff and will continue to make a strong mentor.

pcgscacgold

@OKbustchaser said:
And another one bites the dust.

Congrats on a great start. Todd (pursuitofliberty) knows his stuff and will continue to make a strong mentor.

Thanks an yes, too late to go back now

He is the best. Talked for a couple hours last night after hours of messages and emails all weekend. Looking forward to seeing where I can take this.

LukeMarshall

I always liked the curly two / ugly three combination.

Nice Halves @pcgscacgold, and good luck on the journey

pcgscacgold

@LukeMarshall said:

I always liked the curly two / ugly three combination.

Nice Halves @pcgscacgold, and good luck on the journey

I love the look of the coin in the photo. Can’t wait to see it in hand.

Pnies20

Great start!

The fun never ends with bust halves lol

Floridafacelifter

Looks like you’re having fun! CBH are my side piece also!

pcgscacgold

@Floridafacelifter said:
Looks like you’re having fun! CBH are my side piece also!

Yes it has been fun. Great to hear you also collect CBH. Feel free to post a couple here. I enjoy seeing them all.

johnny010

@Pnies20 said:
Great start!

The fun never ends with bust halves lol

I feel like there’s more to unpack here @Pnies20

spyglassdesign

It is a very deep rabbit hole indeed... CBH are fun coins... virtually every one is unique. Ironically enough, I didn't care for the design when I first saw them, but they grew on me and I can't get enough now.

Herb_T

Welcome to the rabbit hole….its probably too late to run away and run fast! I should have decided to chase modern nickels and not CBHs!

Cladiator

If you haven't already, pick up an Overton book.

pursuitofliberty

He was peering over the edge, just minding his business, asking a few questions

When I happened along, gave him a shove, and watched as he fell helplessly into the hole

Laughing maniacally all the way (him, not me)

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One thing is for sure, @pcgscacgold asked a lot of questions, and took action on a lot of things. In addition to the CBH's he purchased, he ordered the latest copy of the AMBPR, joined the JRCS, and is receiving something he doesn't really know about yet, which will help give him a basis for the future library he'll need to help feed his new addiction.

Watch out people, I may have uncovered a monster!

Smudge

Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from rabbit holes. Especially expensive ones.

pcgscacgold

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. It appears like I found exactly what I was looking for.

The floor is open so feel free to post your favorite example of a Bust Half

yosclimber

Who knew there were coins this nice way down in a rabbit hole?

Pnies20

@pcgscacgold Collecting a redbook set or date set, etc?

pcgscacgold

@Pnies20 said:

@pcgscacgold Collecting a redbook set or date set, etc?

That is a very nice CBH. Thanks for posting that.

I think a date set is very doable and a good starting point. Along the way I can see tossing in a few Redbook varieties. Who knows, maybe I can get a fair amount of that set. I will also pick up a few DMs to help learn the process of attributing them. Already did that with the 1827’s. I want to get good enough to be able to determine the Overton number without being told 😄

OKbustchaser

Stay away from 1827's. No one can do those by Overton.

or so people have told me for the past 50 years.

P0CKETCHANGE

Starting a new endeavor is always exciting, especially when you have folks to help. I’ve always found the bust half series to be intimidating with the number of varieties, but it’d be a fun playground for anyone who likes that kind of thing. I have just one example for my type set, this AU58 I picked up from Eye Appealing Coins a few years ago. Best of success!

habaraca

Just don't get sidetracked down the squirrel hole......

ThreeCentSilverFL

Nice start! The earlier dates can be tough, but rewarding to find nice original examples. Keep us updated on progress.

PS I’m working on a full set as well. Still need the ‘13 and ‘15…

pcgscacgold

@P0CKETCHANGE said:
Starting a new endeavor is always exciting, especially when you have folks to help. I’ve always found the bust half series to be intimidating with the number of varieties, but it’d be a fun playground for anyone who likes that kind of thing. I have just one example for my type set, this AU58 I picked up from Eye Appealing Coins a few years ago. Best of success!

Stunning example. My 1836 came from Phil.

pcgscacgold

@ThreeCentSilverFL said:
Nice start! The earlier dates can be tough, but rewarding to find nice original examples. Keep us updated on progress.

PS I’m working on a full set as well. Still need the ‘13 and ‘15…

Thanks. We are at opposite ends of the set. I look forward to slowly moving towards you.

pcgscacgold

@habaraca I have blinders on now though you posted some fun items. Thanks.

pcgscacgold

@OKbustchaser said:
Stay away from 1827's. No one can do those by Overton.

or so people have told me for the past 50 years.

I’m a Calculus guy, and like challenging problems 😄

lilolme

@pcgscacgold I collected some raw bust halves years ago but got away from it when the focus turned more towards other. The last few years have sent 3 small groups for grading. Have tried to get back into it but it is slow - maybe 2 in the last few years. Interesting because just on collectors corner it indicates there are 1762 currently listed. I kind of like to find them at shows but with much fewer show attendance maybe other avenues are coming. Also my mini set appears to have hit the wall. Hopefully you will do better.

lilolme

@Pnies20 said:

@pcgscacgold Collecting a redbook set or date set, etc?

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Whomever made that one for you, made me one also.
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lilolme

One my older raw to graded ones I like more.

Pnies20

Nice @lilolme !!!

pcgscacgold

@lilolme Two outstanding coins. Thanks for sharing the coins and the story. I am hopeful to find one or two like that down the road.

TomB

Welcome to the world of early half dollars! I am familiar with the kind of coins you buy and they are uniformly fabulous and, if you have @pursuitofliberty helping you then you have a trustworthy, super-knowledgeable and generous guide to help along the way. About twenty-five years ago I owned nearly all the early half dollars from 1794-1820, but have sold them long ago. The only one I kept is a nice, original, completely crusty 1817/3-

pcgscacgold

Thanks for the kind words @TomB and for posting that coin. I really like overdates. Cool looking. I couldn’t have described him any better.

johnny9434

Nice cbh's. You don't have to go crazy, will do that for you

pcgscacgold

Some may have wondered why I bought all 4 of these. They don't match at all. I trusted the person I was buying them from when he described each in detail. He said I could return any of them but now I am thinking that might be because he wants them back

Take these two for example (1824 and 1827). Look at the Trueviews again above and tell me which coin is darker in hand. Now look at the very unprofessional and not lightened in any way, photos of the two. Complexly opposite. That tells me that using TV's to make purchases can be problematic. The 1827 is not black.

In hand they look almost the same in color. I am looking forward to matching these two up with the 1836 that is coming.

Here is a quick shot of the other two.

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@pursuitofliberty referenced a second box he sent me with a start to my future library on CBH. I really like books and have a number for my gold collecting. My heart stop for a second when I saw what he sent me. WOW!!!

jayPem

One foot in the rabbit hole.
One foot in the squirrel hole..
😅

ElmerFusterpuck

This series is ugly and tedious, you might not want to continue....

Just kidding! Good luck with this adventure. I'm just doing the 79 coin major varieties set. My icon is one of the highlights in my collection, see below. Not bad for an XF-45.

Herb_T

@pcgscacgold said:

@OKbustchaser said:
Stay away from 1827's. No one can do those by Overton.

or so people have told me for the past 50 years.

I’m a Calculus guy, and like challenging problems 😄

I’m a Differential Equations guy…. 🤓

TomB

@Herb_T said:

@pcgscacgold said:

@OKbustchaser said:
Stay away from 1827's. No one can do those by Overton.

or so people have told me for the past 50 years.

I’m a Calculus guy, and like challenging problems 😄

I’m a Differential Equations guy…. 🤓

Ahhh...Diff EQ...those were the days...

pursuitofliberty

@TomB said:

@Herb_T said:

@pcgscacgold said:

@OKbustchaser said:
Stay away from 1827's. No one can do those by Overton.

or so people have told me for the past 50 years.

I’m a Calculus guy, and like challenging problems 😄

I’m a Differential Equations guy…. 🤓

Ahhh...Diff EQ...those were the days...

The kids would say we're all a bunch of nerds!

That's okay though. We get to play with these!

Herb_T

I have a number of unique CBH, but less than 1/2 of them have the O number on the PCGS label. When I buy CBH now, it needs to have the O number on the label as it will cost $45 per slab to get the number added later. PCGS registry only counts those coin with O number on the label for CAPPED BUST HALF DOLLARS DIE VARIETY AND DIE STATE SET BY OVERTON, CIRCULATION STRIKES (1807-1836).

My favorite of the CBH are the coins from the Mohawk Valley Hoard (Google it)

Getting guidance from Todd and others will help you for sure.

Herb_T

I should add that my favorite are those with die cracks as well as those with die clash. That is what draws me to them…that and the Mohawk Valley Hoard CBH. It’s like mission impossible to find the MVH CBH coins though.

fluffy155

I don't see any reeded edge coins, so here's one (along with a few others). Sadly most of my busts don't have TrueViews:

TomB

Stay away from Reeded Edge half dollars! They are the red-headed step-children of US numismatics! You don't want to step your toes into that quagmire!

pcgscacgold

@Herb_T said:

@pcgscacgold said:

@OKbustchaser said:
Stay away from 1827's. No one can do those by Overton.

or so people have told me for the past 50 years.

I’m a Calculus guy, and like challenging problems 😄

I’m a Differential Equations guy…. 🤓

I teach 3 sections of DiffEQ each Spring My favorite course.

pcgscacgold

@TomB said:
Stay away from Reeded Edge half dollars! They are the red-headed step-children of US numismatics! You don't want to step your toes into that quagmire!

Thanks for the warning. I won't even think about collecting those Wait, I like redheads sorry......

brianc1959

@TomB said:
Stay away from Reeded Edge half dollars! They are the red-headed step-children of US numismatics! You don't want to step your toes into that quagmire!

Perhaps "REHD" - headed? I managed to complete the peculiar little major varieties set, and that was definitely a rabbit hole!
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/half-dollars/capped-bust-half-dollars-reeded-edge-major-varieties-circulation-strikes-1836-1839/album/338423

pcgscacgold

Great set @brianc1959 Thanks for posting that.

brianc1959

@pcgscacgold said:
Great set @brianc1959 Thanks for posting that.

One day you may not be thanking me! Every 1839 CBH half I encounter now becomes a whole "McElligot's Pool" drama.

OKbustchaser

@pursuitofliberty said:

@TomB said:

@Herb_T said:

@pcgscacgold said:

@OKbustchaser said:
Stay away from 1827's. No one can do those by Overton.

or so people have told me for the past 50 years.

I’m a Calculus guy, and like challenging problems 😄

I’m a Differential Equations guy…. 🤓

Ahhh...Diff EQ...those were the days...

The kids would say we're all a bunch of nerds!

That's okay though. We get to play with these!

The reason I'm not a chem E (original major). Three weeks into my Calc II course I was so lost I couldn't even ask a coherent question. LOL

But, as said above, we do have these. I just plucked this one from the BST yesterday.

OKbustchaser