1804 Half Cent?

bigtonydallas

On page 66 of the December 27th issue of Coin World, there is an article about a coin cherryied by a collector. He bought a rare spiked chin variety on Teletrade for $180. The coin is worth $10,000+. Does anyone have info on the attribution of this rare variety? Book? Pictures? Thanks.

dthigpen

No information on that attribution, but I sure do love 1804 half cents...

Louis

Seems like I recently heard a story about someone purchasing one that could be identified by die charachteristics but the die break causing the spiked chin hadn't happened yet. Apparently pretty rare. Then again my memory isn't the best, maybe I'm wrong.

tlhoy

<< <i>On page 66 of the December 27th issue of Coin World, there is an article about a coin cherryied by a collector. He bought a rare spiked chin variety on Teletrade for $180. The coin is worth $10,000+. Does anyone have info on the attribution of this rare variety? Book? Pictures? Thanks. >>



Sounds like hype to me.
1804 Spiked Chin Half Cents are common.
I've have not seen an 1804 Spiked Chin sell for $10,000 yet, not even one that was PCGS graded MS 66!


Glenn

Conder101

No you have it right. The coin is an 1804 C-3 variety. It is the same obv and rev dies used to strike the C-5 variety but before the obv die was injured and received the "Spiked Chin" (There are I believe four varieties of Spiked Chin 1804 half cents.). The newly discovered coin is the fifth one known and is the finest known by about 10 points. The C-3 was listed in the first edtion of the Cohen book but when it was realized that it was the same variety as C-5 the C-3 was delisted. The new discovery can be seen here:
1804 C-3 at www.coinfacts.com

To see the dies on a better condition coin here is the C-5 at Coinfacts, just ignore the spike at the mouth and chin.
Coinfacts 1804 C-5

Note the very high crosslet 4 in the date and the very widely spread 200 in the fraction. Those may not be completely dianostic but they are close to being difinitive. The C-7 also has a high 4 and very wide 200 but on it the gap between the ends of the wreath is below the S instead of below the gap between the E & S. (The C-7 is also very rare so if you find a high 4, very wide 200, and no spike you have a good one no matter what.) The very wide 200 rev is also used on C-4 which does not have a spiked chin, but on it the 4 is low.

BillJones

There four Spiked Chin varieties of 1804 half cents. None of them are really rare, although the C-7 is the hardest to find. When I was collecting half cents, I had two C-7s at one time. One I purchased at an EAC auction. The second was a piece that I cherry picked at a local show. It was a really nice coin that graded VF-25.

This C-3 which was recently discovered is only a die state of C-5. As such it doesn't excite me, and would not have excited me even when I was collecting half cents. I don't care for die state collecting because it tends to put too many coins in too few hands. If one were to collect all of the die states for the 1804 C-6, which is another of the Spiked Chin varieties, you would need 16 coins according to Breen. After a few collectors got into to doing that, there were far fewer coins available for everyone else. It's a lot more fun when more people can enjoy the hobby.

Conder101

Your right the C-7 isn't as rare as it used to be. It used to be an R-6 coin. Now it's down to an R-4, but it is still the fourth most expensive 1804 half cent(C-2, C-3, C-4 then C-7). (Listed at $1500 in Penny Price in F-12.) When you consider that Spiked Chin pieces aren't that hard to come by it's worth knowing how to recognize the C-7.

bigtonydallas

What would be the best book on these varieties?

Conder101

Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States Half Cents 1793 - 1857. Readily available for I believe about $60, sometimes less.

Second choice is The Half Cent Die State Book 1793 - 1857. Much more complete on die state information on each variety. Available from the author Ron Manley for $75 postpaid.

AuldFartte

I prefer Manley over Breen. Just my opinion, of course, but Manley's plates and descriptions are much easier to follow.