Affordable and Interesting

NeophyteNumismatist

Here and ATS, I am consistently blown away by the caliber of the coins posted. The numismatic eyegasm is a wonderful, and often expensive pursuit that seems to get more expensive as we go. However, I love when I can find something affordable and interesting. When that coin is relatively attractive, problem-free and scarce - even better. When the coin is squarely in my wheelhouse - I cannot resist it.

Today, one checked all those boxes... This is an 1855 Half Cent with a Rim Clip in PCGS50. This is not a very high grade for the most common coin in the Braided Hair HC series, but the clip made it interesting and a fun novelty piece to add interest to my half cent collection. (Just goes to show that they don't have to be expensive "Top Pops" to be cool!)

jesbroken

Love it, Neo.
Jim

OAKSTAR

Nothing wrong with that, right @seanq?

U1chicago

One can have plenty of fun collecting interesting and affordable coins. You found a great example to prove that point.

seanq

Beautiful coin, and a nice genuine Mint error as well. Nothing at all wrong with that acquisition.

Sean Reynolds

NeophyteNumismatist

Thanks gents. The coin was about the cost of a sushi dinner for the family, so it was a no brainer. Hot dogs it is!

RVWCoins

That is a great coin with an interesting clip. I love the braided hair coinage. Nice pickup!

BLUEJAYWAY

Well done. Coin has a nice chocolate look to it.

RLSnapper

I felt the same way with this rim clip LC. $75 raw on Ebay and used a voucher to certify it.
Adds interest to my set. Not every coin has to be MS65 CAC to be cool.

Walkerguy21D

Does the half cent holder list the clip on the label?

joeykoins

@RVWCoins said:
That is a great coin with an interesting clip. I love the braided hair coinage. Nice pickup!

Hey,
"Welcome to the Forum!"
Come and
L-E-A-R-N.
Plus,
Have FUN.

NeophyteNumismatist

@Walkerguy21D said:
Does the half cent holder list the clip on the label?

Yes. The label says "Rim Clip"

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Unrelated - I wanted to welcome @RVWCoins to the forum! I also like Braided Hair coinage, and a date set of half cents was one of my earliest collecting goals. I cannot promote the business strike half cents enough. It's a short set that can be assembled relatively easily, but finding nicer pieces can be a challenge. Good luck, and feel free to PM me at any point on the series if you would like a few insights.

johnny9434

nice score i like

Dave99B

Cool 1/2 Cent! Nice chocolate brown example.

Dave

divecchia

Nice pickup. I love the color on it and a nice clip to boot.

Congrats, Donato

Glen2022

Nice example. What would a 1/2 cent buy in 1855?

NeophyteNumismatist

@Glen2022 said:
Nice example. What would a 1/2 cent buy in 1855?

At the time the half cent was decommissioned from currency (1857), it was worth 12-14c in today's money. So, in 1855... not too much. In the earliest days of production (1793-1809), I have read it could buy a sandwich.

NeophyteNumismatist

So, I was able to do it again! I found an 1805 C-4 (R.1) in XF40 with a rim clip. I didn't have the variety, and the rim clip makes it a little cool. This coin was a little more expensive than the Sushi dinner, but at $550... it's certainly an achievable coin for a collector that wants to squirrel a few dollars away for something cool.

This coin is not the example in my date set, but an accent piece. I just got it in hand, and I LOVE it. The surfaces are smooth and hard. There are no overly distracting marks to speak of. IMO it is pretty darn hard to find an XF40 half cent that looks as good as this - the clip is what makes it cool (and gives me an excuse to upgrade the variety one day).

I will include the dealer pics, and the PCGS TrueView:

NeophyteNumismatist

@Walkerguy21D - This one did NOT have clip on the label.

Walkerguy21D

@NeophyteNumismatist said:
@Walkerguy21D - This one did NOT have clip on the label.

Thanks Neo! Interesting that they put it on one label but not the other. Maybe it’s by request of the submitter?

NeophyteNumismatist

@Walkerguy21D said:

@NeophyteNumismatist said:
@Walkerguy21D - This one did NOT have clip on the label.

Thanks Neo! Interesting that they put it on one label but not the other. Maybe it’s by request of the submitter?

Yeah, I think it's one of those pay extra things. Honestly, it's better if you DONT put them on the label. That way you can create a registry set. Mint errors are excluded ATS.

It's at this point that I start to think, "can I build a 3-pc type set (7070) with rim clips? All I need now is a classic head.

Copperindian

I like “eyegasm” almost as much as the coin (& I do like the coin!).