I got my Early Half Dollar Die Varieties- Overton book in the mail today.

NumisOxide

It took me a while to find a dealer who had the book in stock. Most didn't. I'm glad Dick Osburn had it up for sale for me to buy. Well, now that I have the book. I'm going to buy my first Draped Bust Half. I learned from this board to buy the book before the coin.

Darkmane

ooooooooooh..... now that's something i need! the more i look at early half dollars the more i fall in love with them

Dennis88

Don't have it yet

Baley

atta boy

MrHalfDime

Congratulations! You've bought the book. Now take the next very necessary step, and READ it. You will find countless hours of enjoyment in that book, and if the fever strikes you, you may find many years of enjoyment pursuing the Bust halves. If you find that the Bust halves really interest you, you may want to do two other things. You might want to consider becoming a member of the John Reich Collectors Society (JRCS), which is involved in the study and collecting of all Bust coinage, and will put you in touch with other collectors of similar interest. You may also want to consider buying Dr. Glenn Peterson's supplement to the Overton book - 'The Ultimate Guide to Attributing Bust Halves'. It does not replace Overton, but merely supplements it, making attributions relatively quick and easy. Who knows, maybe some day you might even consider becoming a member of the Bust Half Nut Club (BHNC), and pursue collecting all 454 die marriages!

NumisOxide

Thanks for the comments and collecting tips everyone. I'm going to start reading it in a little while.

mozin

<< <i>Thanks for the comments and collecting tips everyone. I'm going to start reading it in a little while. >>

Pay attention to the rarity ratings in the book but there are two things to remember:
1.Some of the rarer varieties have changes in rarity numbers since the book was written and this will affect prices somewhat.
2.There are far more collectors of Capped Bust Halves than Draped so you must consider this difference when paying premiums for rarity. I do not consider R4 Draped to generally command a premium but R4 Capped definitely will cost extra. As an example, I have hundreds of Capped Bust Halves but only two Drapped Halves. The serious collecting of the Draped series will cost big money.

Merc

I have that book. It is interesting, but I don't use it too often. It takes some time to atribute a bust half. It is not something you can take to a show to find better overton varieties. It does allow you to see which ones are the rare ones. You can memorize those for your hunts at shows.

The more important thing is knowing what nice origional halves look like. So many have been cleaned.