Attribution Help: 1809 Bust Half Dollar

mirabela

What have I got here? I've had this coin since I was a kid. Thanks in advance!

mozin

Looks like O-109A R2. The B ds has broken patches at the arrowheads. Nice coin.

DeputyPud

I agree. O-109a (R2). Die crack through the center of AMERICA and continuing across the tops of the arrowheads.

mirabela

Thanks. Knew I could count on you guys. After all this time I got a picture that's about like the coin. Been here ~25 years.

coinlieutenant

Here is the same variety but a later die state...109b.

DeputyPud

Oooohhhhh, the broken arrows. Nice followup.

fcloud

IS the rim lettered or reeded?

coinlieutenant

III "experimental" edge I believe on the 109...

J

mirabela

mozin

<< <i>IS the rim lettered or reeded? >>

The rim is lettered. The O-109A may or may not have the experimental edge ///// between OR & HALF, and again between DOLLAR & FIFTY. The ///// experimental edge is worth a small premium, although lately in auction it is bringing a rather large premium. Why someone would pay a premium for an experimental edge on an encapsulated CBH, I don't know. Maybe they plan to crack the slab.

Cladiator

Mozin,

All 3 types of 1809's are listed in the Redbook. Could be Redbook variety collectors driving the prices up?

mirabela

This one has got the III edge.

What do you figure re: grade of this piece? I've always supposed it a 53 or so. Your thoughts?

ziggy29

<< <i>What do you figure re: grade of this piece? I've always supposed it a 53 or so. Your thoughts? >>

I'm not that hot at grading Bust halves, but I was thinking EF-45, maybe AU-50. Nice old die with lots of die erosion on the stars, too.

Cladiator

Remember these early dates are famous for abysmal strikes.

mozin

<< <i>This one has got the III edge.

What do you figure re: grade of this piece? I've always supposed it a 53 or so. Your thoughts? >>

From your pictures and the information you provided, I would say AU50 plus or minus a few points. If the luster is good and the fields are fairly clean, it certainly could go AU53.

Cladiator,

Yes, I think it is the REDBOOK collectors driving up the prices realized on experimental edges. We should also include the registry set builders. The XXX edges bring more money than the /////.

When I first started collecting CBHs I spent a lot of time looking at the third side. That was when I did not have much money to buy coins. There were few other collectors I found that even looked at the third side. Later, I met some VERY serious CBH collectors that were interested in the third side. Even then, they wanted the extremely rare edge varieties, and could care less about the ordinary edge varieties.

At one time I had a couple dozen nice 1809 CBHs. Currently, my records do not indicate any 1809 edge varieties. I take that to mean none of my 1809s are experimental edge, OR whoever submitted the coins for encapsulation didn't even bother to check the edges. After I started encapsulating all my coins, I completely forgot about the third side.