End of the month Bustie quiz

OKbustchaser

There is an interesting bust half dollarquiz and discussion over at CoinZip. It was posed by our very own Edmerlr.



<< <i>A couple of years ago I made up two charts - which are below.

I have already shared and explained these charts to 2 or 3 of you. (You know who you are. Please refrain from answering my questions. Slap you hand with the other hand if you reach for the computer mouse.)




Can anybody explain:

(1) What these numbers mean?

(2) What is the source for these numbers?

(3) What do these numbers tell you?

(4) How can they be used? By a Buyer? By a Seller?

(5) Do they have any value other than something for the curious?

Regards,

Ed Richter
>>

TomB

The top chart would appear to be the relative rarity of each date issue in each grade while the bottom chart looks at individual die marriages and correlates their scarcity/availability in each grade. The sources for the numbers are likely a combination of the work of Al Overton in his seminal tome on die marriages for early half dollars (now "authored" by his son-in-law Don Parsely) and the observations of Edgar Souders in his Bust Half Fever with some contribution from the BHNC census. The numbers would tell me that the 1808/7 O.101 is going to be found in F12 with roughly the same frequency as the 1818/7 O.101 in AU50 will be found and this can help folks determine how much to pay for a coin. In other words, given two die marriages with the same overall R value, which coin should be worth more in a particular grade going simply by scarcity of availability in that grade and higher.

tradedollarnut

This is how PCGS should weight its Registry Sets.

JRocco

This chart tells me to buy an 1812/11 O-101 and an 1824/21 O-102 as soon as I see one in any grade available

These charts say sooooo much as to the true rarity of a given variety in relation to its grade. Some coins are REALLY HARD in the lowest grades while others only become really tough in the investment grades.

Now let me go look at these charts again and stop typing.

FEVER

Mumble, mumble, mumble (Ed has gagged me from speaking).

Edgar

edmerlr

Fever...

...when you read the threads on CoinZip about this subject, you will see that I released you from confinement a few days ago.

(By-the-way, there are some thought provoking comments over there about this subject.)

YOU ARE NOW FREE TO SPEAK.

Think, think, think.

Speak, speak, speak.

...and darn it!

Type, type, type.

Ed R.