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1806 Chapman Hoard Half Cent

BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭
A board member sent me a PM about an 1806 half cent that he was thinking about buying. He mentioned the Chapman Hoard, and I’ve decided to post a coin from my collection that came from that group of coins.

Around 1906 the Chapman brothers, who were Philadelphia coin dealers, sold a hoard of several hundred half cents that they had purchased. The coins were mostly red and red-brown Uncirculated coins often with some spotting. They were apparently from an original keg of half cents from the mint, and they were the large 6, stems variety, which is now known as 1806 Cohen 4 or Breen 4. Today the coins from this hoard account for the vast majority of the available Mint State Draped Bust half cents have original mint red. Almost a century ago these coins sold for $1 each, but today a very nice one will cost you several thousand dollars. Pieces in the low MS (60 or 61) can still be purchased for less than $1,000.

My coin is a fairly typical example from this hoard. It has weakness along Ms. Liberty’s bust line and at 12 o’clock on the reverse. It also has a spot or two. These coins are any thing but rare, but since they are almost 200 years old and in Mint State condition, they of interest to some collectors.

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Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?

Comments

  • TONEDDOLLARSTONEDDOLLARS Posts: 2,928 ✭✭✭✭
    Bill, Nice coin. Thanks for sharing. Are you going to Auburn Sunday?
  • Pretty!!! And great info.
    image
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi toned dollars!

    No, I won't be in Auburn on Sunday. I will be at the Willimantic,CT show on March 30 and at Chelmsford the Sunday after that.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • GeminiGemini Posts: 3,085
    Thats a lovely little sister Bill.
    A thing of beauty is a joy for ever
  • I've read several articles by Bowers on the subject...It's very interesting how those coins stayed in a keg for about 100 years...
    One of the many mysteries of coins...
  • ElcontadorElcontador Posts: 7,412 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Bill,

    Thanks for the pic. Was this coin a mid-die state? I assume it's a RB from the look of it though it may be slabbed as a RD; I don't see many coins like this one. like the coin's color.
    "Vou invadir o Nordeste,
    "Seu cabra da peste,
    "Sou Mangueira......."
  • Nice coin, thanks for sharing. Would be thrilled to own such a piece. May not be rare at the moment, or as compared to other rarities, but don't kid yourself just because you made a fortuitous, timely purchase. In a few years there should be a lot of state quarter collectors chasing draped bust half cents for their type collections. Besides Chapman hoard coins, what else will they find available if they want an ms coin with a little red?
    redhott
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 33,427 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi Elcontador,

    The picture makes this coin look a little more red than it is. The coin will probably slab as an R&B. There are also nameless hoards of the 1804, plain 4 stemless. Very few of these pieces have much red on them. They are usually a rich, glossy brown. If you come to like brown copper, those coins are quite attractive as well.

    As for die state, this piece is a little sharper than average for a Chapman piece. Using EAC standards, this piece is an MS-60 or 61. In slab it will probably grade a couple points higher.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • ShamikaShamika Posts: 18,759 ✭✭✭✭
    TTT
    Buyer and seller of vintage coin boards!

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