Capped Bust Half Dime Attribution Challenge - February 2025

Bikergeek

OK, last month's CBHDAC was a mess, and I even got it wrong. Luckily I had some intrepid numismatists to get me back on track. This one is a simple two pictures, unlike last month's collage of awesomeness.

For new readers: the challenge is to identify the Logan-McCloskey (LM) variety (i.e., die marriage or remarriage) for this half dime.

A die marriage is a unique pairing of one obverse die with one reverse die. Remarriages occur when those dies are reunited after one of them was paired with a different mate for a period of time. Marriages are identified by LM-n where n is the marriage identifier (e.g., LM-11). If the dies were separated and then remarried, this adds a decimal number: "LM-n.y" shows the number of the remarriage in the y position (e.g., LM-13.2).

How to attribute? The Logan-McCloskey book "Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837" is authoritative. Or, you can use EverythingHalfDimes.com. Some folks have their own tools or cheat sheets.

RobertScotLover

I copy that

Cladiator

um...

jesbroken

Counterfeit or new die pair find?
Jim

yosclimber

I agree with @jesbroken. Counterfeit or new discovery.

Seems to be reverse V based on scroll position (S2S-8, etc.).
But the LM book does not have Rev V paired with any 1833 Obv.
And the date is too low relative to the other known 1833 Obvs.

scubafuel

Look at the lettering within the left wing.

jesbroken

Seems to be reverse V based on scroll position (S2S-8, etc.).
But the LM book does not have Rev V paired with any 1833 Obv.
And the date is too low relative to the other known 1833 Obvs.

@yosclimber is right it is a V reverse, even has the left wingtip raised mark. Some die clashing going on also. Not sure what's up. C'mon Sean, Wassup?
Jim

Barndog

It even says COPY 🤣

Logan and McCloskey described only genuine coins.

Bikergeek

ROFL! @scubafuel and @Barndog let the cat outa the bag. If you'll note the first post, @RobertScotLover caught that too but he was a little more subtle. heheheh

So - I got pretty excited when I spotted that and it's within the bounds of reason that Reverse V (which appeared on 1834 LM-1) might have a marriage with an 1833 half dime. The reverses were used on multiple years all the time! But when I (finally) saw the word "Copy" in there - after staring at the S2S relationships and trying to figure out that obverse - it really let the air outa my sails.

So - another successful Challenge in the bag. The correct answer is: "NONE OF THE ABOVE."

Cladiator

Bikergeek

@Cladiator said:

Oh no, Clad... don't applaud. This is an occasion for tears! This is the second time my "new marriage" discovery has gone bust!!! Remember this one: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1097340/i-was-temporarily-the-proud-discoverer-of-a-new-capped-bust-half-dime-die-marriage

scubafuel

@bikergeek I liked this challenge! And sorry to give it up prematurely. It shows how much of die marriage attribution is done on the peripheries of a coin (letters, stars, dentils etc) so if there is a clue in the center it can be hard to spot at first.

jesbroken

Loved this challenge. After posting, and perusing RLS and Clad's responses, I felt something was missing and posted again before reading scubafuel and barndog's posts and Duh! Copy that.
Jim

Bikergeek

Here's the kicker: this is at a HiBid auction, and the auction date is - I'm not making this up - on April Fools Day.