Can someone share their thoughts on how they track the various varieties and attributes of half cent

Longacre

I am leaving for the mystical Orient on Sunday (China) and the flying time from JFK is 14 hours each way. As such, I will have a lot of free time on my hands. Also, I am traveling alone on this trip, so for 10 days (including a weekend), I will need something to keep me occupied.

Longacre is getting long in the tooth, so the days of memorizing the various varieties and attributes of coins are long gone. I would like to put together a better summary of the varieties of half cents (and ultimately other early copper) that is more portable than lugging a book around the bourse. Can someone share how they keep track of the various varieties and attributes of early copper (except for memorizing them)?

I tend to prefer outlining and summarizing things in a spreadsheet. I am thinking of taking the Breen Half Cent encyclopedia on my trip, and making a nice summary of the coins on a spreadsheet, which I can easily carry around the bourse. Does anyone have another method that they use that I should consider?

RichieURich

I agree with taking the Breen Half Cent Encyclopedia along on the trip. I would suggest focusing on the key dates and varieties, for example: 1793, 1796 With Pole, 1796 No Pole, 1797 Gripped Edge, 1802/0 rev. of 1800, 1802/0 rev. of 1802, 1804 C-2, 1805 C-2, 1806 C-3, 1808/7 C-1, 1811 2 star cud, 1826 2 star cud, 1831, the proof-only dates, etc. Remember that there are several errors in most of Breen's books, as much additional information has come to light since the books were published.

MrHalfDime

I can certainly relate to your dilemma on how to conveniently carry with you all of the necessary information to properly and accurately attribute the many die marriages of the half cent denomination. Although I collect a different early Federal series, the concept and the requirement is much the same. I know that many half cent collectors like to carry the Cohen reference on half cents to coin shows to aid in their attributions, rather than the much larger Breen reference, simply because a few hours of carring the Breen tome around the bourse floor would result in much longer arms.

Neither the Cohen nor the Breen references on half cents include the very useful "Quick-Find" charts such as are used in the early Federal dime and half dime references authored by Russ Logan, John McCloskey and others. These charts, appearing at the beginning of each date section, concisely and readily present the necessary information for quickly attributing each of the obverse and reverse dies for that date. These charts can be copied, one for each date of interest, and easily carried to coin shows and dealer's shops, to aid in your attributions.

In the absence of any such "Quick-Find" charts in the available literature for the half cents, it would be reasonable for someone as learned and astute as yourself to construct your own attribution charts. Before the masterful "Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837" was published in 1998, we had no such charts for the early half dimes, either. Like several others with similar interests, I developed my own "Quick-Find" charts for each of the known die marriages in the Capped Bust half dimes by closely studying the obverse and reverse dies of the coins that I owned. One might reasonably ask "If you don't own all of the die marriages, how can you possibly study all of the obverses and reverses?". It turns out that many of the obverse and reverse dies used on the rarest die marriages are also used on more common marriages, so the odds are you might already have representative examples of all or most of the dies in the series. For those which you do not, you can use the available literature or auction catalogs for examples to study for your charts.

When developing such attribution charts, it is important to include the distinctive details that you see, and not necessarily the details which others use to identify the dies. Many times when constructing my "Quick-Find" charts for the Capped Bust half dimes, I found that I did not necessarily agree with the 'experts' or conventional wisdom, and used pick-up points of my own which I found much easier for me to use. It is a personalized system, made to accomodate your own needs, and not necessarily those of others.

These attribution aids can be constructed like flow charts, asking the user key questions about what is seen or not seen on a specific die. Depending upon the answer to each question, the user is directed along different paths in the flow chart until he arrives at the proper die marriage. These charts, once completed, can easily be entered into a PDA or Blackberry if you choose not to carry old fashioned paper copies with you to shows. I have copies of my charts for the Capped Bust half dimes in my database, allowing me to quickly attribute a half dime at my computer. Such "Quick-Find" charts will also be a key and integral element in my pending reference on the Liberty Seated half dimes.

On occasion I still use my old "Quick-Find" charts for the Capped Bust half dimes, and over time they have been revised to become even more effective and easier to use. Be aware, however, that once you develop and begin to use such attribution charts, you become one of the much dreaded "Die Variety Collectors", persona non grata at some dealer's tables.

Coinosaurus

Focus on one year at a time. I bet you could easily memorize one year on this plane trip coming and going. Learn the obverse and reverse dies first, then worry about the marriages.

Also, be mindful of security. Everyone knows that all the world-class half cent thieves hang out in the first class cabin of the New York to Beijing flights

Longacre

<< <i>I can certainly relate to your dilemma on how to conveniently carry with you all of the necessary information to properly and accurately attribute the many die marriages of the half cent denomination. Although I collect a different early Federal series, the concept and the requirement is much the same. I know that many half cent collectors like to carry the Cohen reference on half cents to coin shows to aid in their attributions, rather than the much larger Breen reference, simply because a few hours of carring the Breen tome around the bourse floor would result in much longer arms.

Neither the Cohen nor the Breen references on half cents include the very useful "Quick-Find" charts such as are used in the early Federal dime and half dime references authored by Russ Logan, John McCloskey and others. These charts, appearing at the beginning of each date section, concisely and readily present the necessary information for quickly attributing each of the obverse and reverse dies for that date. These charts can be copied, one for each date of interest, and easily carried to coin shows and dealer's shops, to aid in your attributions.

In the absence of any such "Quick-Find" charts in the available literature for the half cents, it would be reasonable for someone as learned and astute as yourself to construct your own attribution charts. Before the masterful "Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837" was published in 1998, we had no such charts for the early half dimes, either. Like several others with similar interests, I developed my own "Quick-Find" charts for each of the known die marriages in the Capped Bust half dimes by closely studying the obverse and reverse dies of the coins that I owned. One might reasonably ask "If you don't own all of the die marriages, how can you possibly study all of the obverses and reverses?". It turns out that many of the obverse and reverse dies used on the rarest die marriages are also used on more common marriages, so the odds are you might already have representative examples of all or most of the dies in the series. For those which you do not, you can use the available literature or auction catalogs for examples to study for your charts.

When developing such attribution charts, it is important to include the distinctive details that you see, and not necessarily the details which others use to identify the dies. Many times when constructing my "Quick-Find" charts for the Capped Bust half dimes, I found that I did not necessarily agree with the 'experts' or conventional wisdom, and used pick-up points of my own which I found much easier for me to use. It is a personalized system, made to accomodate your own needs, and not necessarily those of others.

These attribution aids can be constructed like flow charts, asking the user key questions about what is seen or not seen on a specific die. Depending upon the answer to each question, the user is directed along different paths in the flow chart until he arrives at the proper die marriage. These charts, once completed, can easily be entered into a PDA or Blackberry if you choose not to carry old fashioned paper copies with you to shows. I have copies of my charts for the Capped Bust half dimes in my database, allowing me to quickly attribute a half dime at my computer. Such "Quick-Find" charts will also be a key and integral element in my pending reference on the Liberty Seated half dimes.

On occasion I still use my old "Quick-Find" charts for the Capped Bust half dimes, and over time they have been revised to become even more effective and easier to use. Be aware, however, that once you develop and begin to use such attribution charts, you become one of the much dreaded "Die Variety Collectors", persona non grata at some dealer's tables. >>





Great suggestions.

joecopper

for attributing half cents, Greg Heim (gynandroidhead.com) has an excellent "quick finder"
"attributes" could mean a lot of things