1839 Large Cent - Booby or Silly? (or hybrid??)

tskinnt76

Hi all — I'm hoping to get some help attributing an 1839 Coronet Head large cent that's showing some conflicting diagnostic features.

Here's what I'm seeing:

OBVERSE:
• Prominent browlock (forehead curl) present
• 'T' in LIBERTY appears buried/embedded in the hair with serifs not visible
• Hair cords are clearly BEADED (not plain) — individually countable beads in two strands
• No evidence of an underlying '6' in the date numeral
• Die cracks visible across the obverse

REVERSE:
• Clear line under CENT — boldly visible in close-up

The conflicting elements:
— Buried 'T' + browlock + beaded cords = points toward Booby Head
— Line under CENT = traditionally associated with Silly Head, not Booby Head

I initially wondered about the 1839/6 overdate due to some sources suggesting the line under CENT could be relevant, but the beaded cords definitively rule that out - and there's no sign of any '6' under the '9'.

I've attached close-up photos of:
1. The LIBERTY coronet area showing the buried T
2. The hair cords showing the beading
3. The ONE CENT reverse showing the line
4. Full obverse shot

Any help narrowing down the Newcomb number would be greatly appreciated. Is there a specific variety where a buried T and line under CENT can coexist, or am I misreading one of these diagnostics?

Thanks in advance — this is my first post here and I'm learning a lot!

Copperindian

Welcome!
Use this as a guide:

Givaudan

Wow!
Within 15 minutes the OP received a well thought-out and detailed answer.
That is pretty cool.

johnny9434

Wow, take care now

tskinnt76

@Copperindian said:
Welcome!
Use this as a guide:

Amazing - thank you so much @Copperindian - much appreciated! I guess it's a Silly Head!

lkenefic

Yup! Looks pretty "Silly" to me

epc

And to finish things off, I believe yours to be a Newcomb-4 (N-4), rather than the other Silly Head, which is N-9. The N-9 commonly has a "bisecting" die crack that is not apparent on your coin. There are other diagnostics to distinguish the two obverse dies. The two Silly Head die marriages used the same reverse die. The Silly Head in the photos posted by CopperIndian is the N-9 obverse, with the crack and a "hole" just in front of the ear.

Walkerguy21D

@RedRocket said:
Wow!
Within 15 minutes the OP received a well thought-out and detailed answer.
That is pretty cool.

Yes, and it’s refreshing to get a well thought out post from a new member, who clearly did a lot of homework before posing his question to the forum.
I assume by now the OP realizes it’s not really a buried T, it’s just worn to the point where the T has merged or blended into the hair.

jesbroken

Had a lot of fun attributing that year. Used to have a dozen of the various dies. Attributing has become more fun to me than any other form of collecting. Thanks to several board members here.
Jim

epc

@jesbroken said:
Had a lot of fun attributing that year. Used to have a dozen of the various dies. Attributing has become more fun to me than any other form of collecting. Thanks to several board members here.
Jim

It's a different kind of fun when there isn't a good "complete" guide to a series, as with seated half dimes. Let's all encourage @yosclimber to keep up the good work.

jesbroken

Hard to get much better when the coins are nearly 200 years old. Only the @yosclimber's, @Bikergeek's, etc. can add their years of studying the dies to improve it. Along with Roger's perpetual study of early records, these are just a few of the behind the scene workers striving to add knowledge to such fields. JMO
Jim