1795 Half Dime -- What is this?

paul43438

Greetings All:
What do you think this 1795 Half Dime is?

Grade?
Genuine?
Valentine variety?

Your thoughts are appreciated.
Paul

ddbird

Scary!

JrGMan2004

Looks like the eye has been tooled.... but, if it's genuine it appears to be an LM-8, which Valentine lists as V-5 and V-5A. Logan and McCloskey list it as an R3 marriage. Some comments frfom the book. "Struck counterfeits madee from dies produced by the spark erosion process are extremely dedcieving; a telltale pit at top of 7 is most ominous."

JadeRareCoin

Good job, George!!

JrGMan2004

Thanks Dennis... The eye does look quit ominous there... why would someone want to tool a coin to look like that?!

Cladiator

George....that is the famed pop 1 "Tammy Faye Baker Variety"!!!!

hughesm1

<< <i>George....that is the famed pop 1 "Tammy Faye Baker Variety"!!!! >>



It looks posessed

JrGMan2004

<< <i>

<< <i>George....that is the famed pop 1 "Tammy Faye Baker Variety"!!!! >>



It looks posessed >>

paul43438

Thanks Guys, I thought also that it was the LM -8 type. I had also read that passage about counterfeits. I had hoped that there would be better info as to what to look for in counterfeits. What does "a telltale pit at top of 7" look like?
I got the coin from a local coin shop with whom I had been dealing with for years and we knew about the eye and maybe hair being 'tooled'. They did say that it came from a type set and that the 1795 half-dollar or dollar ( I forget which, now ) was sold for 16K. I paid less than good money for it. It is after all my first 18th century coin.
Thanks again for the comments.
Paul

SirAnthonyAC

Hi,

Totally natural and original… most people don’t know this but, originally, actual eyes were used on coins. They were removed from gofers, rabbits, and squirrels and applied directly to the dyes, that is the reason for the low mintages of 1700’s US coins. The Duffy-Eyeball Act of 1801 removed living eyes and replaced them with etchings in the coins; after that, the living eyes were no longer placed in the “ball” of the dye… hence the term “keeping your eye on the ball”.

I think it’s time to go home, thank God it’s Friday!

Anthony

tmot99

<< <i>Hi,

Totally natural and original… most people don’t know this but, originally, actual eyes were used on coins. They were removed from gofers, rabbits, and squirrels and applied directly to the dyes, that is the reason for the low mintages of 1700’s US coins. The Duffy-Eyeball Act of 1801 removed living eyes and replaced them with etchings in the coins; after that, the living eyes were no longer placed in the “ball” of the dye… hence the term “keeping your eye on the ball”.

I think it’s time to go home, thank God it’s Friday!

Anthony >>

JrGMan2004