Way cool half-dime find this evening - actually rather unbelievable.

LanLord

This evening, as I was reviewing my type album (A Library of Coins 2 album type set - I was looking at the first album).

This is an album which I had purchased used from a coin dealer that I buy from quite often, I have had it for 2 years or so.

I noticed that the binding on it never really layed properly as I was looking through it, well, finally tonight, the binding flexed
in one direction, and out of the bottom of the binding rolled a half dime (one that wasn't part of my collection).

Apparently, some years ago, the person that owned the album must not have noticed that a half dime became lodged
in between the paper and the cardboard of the second page (or maybe did notice, but couldn't do anything about it).

Anyway tonight it worked it's way free, and out dropped a 1858 seated half dime in somewhere between F15 and VF20 condition.
Nothing too special other than the fact that it was totally free to me. I was hoping it would be something way cool like an unknown
second specimin of the 1870-S half dime, but no, just a 1858 coin.

Pretty cool none the less!

ER

Now you go pay that coin dealer.

Coxe

Every coin is potentially special, even common dates and lower grades. Have you looked for overdates (including over inverted date), doubled digits? This date also has a short pole and recut date varieties.

Neat find anyway.

michael

rmoss

If I were you I'd go buy a lottery ticket.

Myqqy

What's better than a free, cool coin?

LanLord

<< <i>Every coin is potentially special, even common dates and lower grades. Have you looked for overdates (including over inverted date), doubled digits? This date also has a short pole and recut date varieties. Neat find anyway. >>

Interesting, if I compare the half dime I found to the image in the book by Al Blyth, the "short pole" variety, I believe it may be this one. What it appears to be is that the pole whish should be suspending the liberty hat is missing from just below the extended finger to where the hat is sitting, appearing to be suspended in mid-air.

Anyone an expert in half dimes? Would that be an accurate description of the short pole?

Thanks!

Cladiator

Expert in Seated Half Dimes?....we just happen to have at least two of them on these boards. Mr.HalfDime and Rhedden should be able to answer your questions for you. I'm sure they'll be here sooner or later.

Very cool find Tom. You oughta go through that book with a fine tooth comb and see what else is hiding in there

eyoung429

Sounds cool, but what could be better are some pics!!!! That way you can get some opinions or at least get the coin id'd.

Good find !!!!

RGT

Geat find and luck.

What kind of album tone do you get when you store your coins in the album this way?

carl

AHHH. But you never mentioned how much you paid for that album. Maybe that dealer puts coins there, charges a lot for the album hoping people like you that find the coin will go running back and buy all his albums.

LanLord

Here are some pictures of the wayward coin:
Not sure how good the images are.

Here are the:
Obverse

Reverse

Pole: is this a short pole?

Date

LanLord

As I look at the scanned image of the pole, it looks like there may actually be pole connecting from hand to cap, I can't see it with a 16x lense, but the scan seems to show something there.

That might rule out the short pole variety, anyone with expertise in that one have any information to chime in?

MrHalfDime

That's a rather serendipitous find in your album. You can thank your coin dealer for that. And I'd keep looking in that album. Who knows what else might be lurking in there.

1858 is indeed an interesting year for the half dimes, with many unusual and interesting varieties. Without seeing the coin, and being able to study both the obverse and reverse (and perhaps the 'third side' - the edge) it is impossible to attribute your coin to a specific die marriage. I would caution any collector who attempts to attribute their coins by variety, or die marriage, to look at both sides of the coin before rendering a decision. Many new discoveries have gone unnoticed because of 'lazy' attribution techhniques, where the collector looks only at one diagnostic point, or just one side of the coin.

The so-called "Short Pole" 1858 half dime is designated as the Valentine V5, as the die marriage was known to Valentine, but perhaps not the specific attribute of the 'short pole'. Valentine describes the V5 as:

"Obv: Medium open low date. The shield points to left of 1, skirt-pendant over right center of 5. Die cracks through first three and last three stars.

Rev: Medium lettering."

Valentine's typical ambiguous verbal descriptions would allow many 1858 half dimes, from different die marriages, to meet the description. Al Blythe, in his "The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes" provides a more detailed description where he adds:

"Lapping of the obverse die caused Ms. Liberty to be holding a short pole with the appearance of her index finger suspending the hat at the finger tip."

In my own notes, in my half dime database, I have the following diagnostic information:

OBV: SL-11. Obverse die heavily lapped, reducing detail and virtually eliminating pole above Miss Liberty's hand; hence the "Short Pole" sobriquet. Diagnostic DC *8 -*13. REV: M1 partially filled at center and left side.

The designation "SL-11" refers to the shield line - a method to distinguish different obverse dies by sighting along the right side of the upright of the 1 in the date, projecting this line up to the shield above, and determining which of the vertical shield lines (pales) it intersects. The shield lines are consecutively numbered 1-12 from left to right. For the V5 Short Pole variety, the right side of the upright of the 1 intersects with the shield line 11.

As the cause of the "short pole" designation was severe die lapping, and such lapping was common on half dimes of this era, many different 'varieties' can exhibit the same missing pole. There are similar 'short pole' varieties for other half dimes of this period, including 1858-O.

Al Blythe lists the 1858 V5 Short Pole variety as R3, or relatively common. In the absence of concrete census population data, we are left to guess the relative rarity of this and other varieties, but my own experience would tend to concur with Mr. Blythe's assessment. An interesting coin, and well worth your purchase price.

LanLord

An interesting coin, and well worth your purchase price.

Don't find better deals than that one eh?