What's up with this Capped Bust Half Dime?

WillardStiles

It has the filled 8. I know nothing about these and their variations. Sorry the pic is so far away.

MrHalfDime

I cannot even make out the date of your half dime from your picture, but from your description I will assume that it is an 1832. During that year, the Obverse Die #5, used in three different die marriages (LM-12, LM-13, and LM-14) began to slowly deteriorate, beginning with a small die chip in the lower loop of the 8 in the date on LM-12. During successive uses of the obverse die, the die chip slowly increased in size, until, on the LM-14 die marriage, it completely filled the lower loop of the 8. Without seeing the reverse die of your coin it is impossible to determine which die marriage you have, but suffice it to say that you have a very interesting half dime which gives some insight into the dilemma experienced by the mint employees attempting to meet coinage demand with the current technology.

WillardStiles

<< <i>I cannot even make out the date of your half dime from your picture, but from your description I will assume that it is an 1832. During that year, the Obverse Die #5, used in three different die marriages (LM-12, LM-13, and LM-14) began to slowly deteriorate, beginning with a small die chip in the lower loop of the 8 in the date on LM-12. During successive uses of the obverse die, the die chip slowly increased in size, until, on the LM-14 die marriage, it completely filled the lower loop of the 8. Without seeing the reverse die of your coin it is impossible to determine which die marriage you have, but suffice it to say that you have a very interesting half dime which gives some insight into the dilemma experienced by the mint employees attempting to meet coinage demand with the current technology. >>



Very helpful, thanks. I'll try to get a reverse pic up tonight. Is there any value difference because of this? I paid 8 bucks for it.

MrHalfDime

Well, let's see the reverse die first in order to determine the die marriage. Understand that many of the LM-12 coins share this characteristic, and all of the LM-13 and LM-14 exhibit this characteristic, as it occured during the LM-12 die marriage. The LM-12 is an R2 die marriage, the LM-13 is an R3, and the LM-14 is an R4, so I would say no, the filled 8 does not warrant a premium.