1802 Half Dime? Rumor Mill

planonit

I have lot of friends who are collectors of course but an odd amount from California (and a ton in Georgia oddly).
I heard a rumor that a large dealer or shop in California bought a 1802 Half Dime recently from a seller in Ireland or the UK.

Anybody else hear about this?

planonit

Ok a little more info. Supposedly a seller from the UK sold a 1802 Half Dime to a big dealer in California and the seller had the coin on Ebay for like a day and took it down.

Still no word on who is it that bought it or the seller yet.

ms70

Here you go...

I think the auction says it all... 1802 Half Dime on eBay.

sparky64

<< <i>Here you go...

I think the auction says it all... 1802 Half Dime on eBay. >>

coindeuce

Either someone managed to confirm with the U.K. seller that it is a legit coin, and they bought it privately off eBay, or the U.K. seller got cold feet once the inquiries started piling up and they're slowly getting an education on what they have in their possession. Either way, only time will provide the truth about the nature of the coin in question.

ricko

Wow.... that was fast....did anyone save the picture?? Cheers, RickO

ms70

Maybe it was legit. I messaged the seller via eBay who kindly wrote back & said an American dealer made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

If so, congrats to the buyer! I hope who ever it is shares the details with us!

BillJones

<< <i>Wow.... that was fast....did anyone save the picture?? Cheers, RickO >>



Why bother? The picture is so bad you can't tell anything about the coin. It could be almost any Draped Bust silver coin.

I know this sounds like I am a poor sport, but I have come despise the 1802 half dime. The coin has always been just out of my financial reach the entire time that I have been a collector of the early dimes, which dates back 40 years. It the only coin I don't have in my Red Book set and probably will never acquire. Today people are bidding these things up to almost $100,000 in the "details" grades. Most of the coins that I have seen personally that come on the market over the past five years that got "clean grades" would not have gotten them had the coin been anything but an 1802 half dime. The fact that it's a 1802 encourages the graders to ignore problems.

The picture on eBay is so bad that I get a headache just looking at it, but for those with lots of aspirin, here is the reverse (reverse C) of an 1801, LM-2, which shares its reverse with the 1802.



And here is the reverse of an 1803 LM-1 which used the same reverse.



Given the quality of the pictures on eBay, I'm treating this story as an "urban myth," but for those who can decipher that picture, here are two clues for you.

ms70

In the description the seller stated those were pictures of a magazine clipping and he couldn't get a good actual pic. If it was legitimate, he did himself no favor by not making a bigger effort and letting the auction roll. Oh well, I suppose in time we'll find out. Keep watching the pop reports!

RichieURich

The picture on eBay is so bad, I couldn't tell whether it was a coin or not, let alone the denomination or date.

But for those suffering 1802 half dime withdrawal, here is a pic of one, pedigreed to the William Harmon Collection sold by Heritage several years ago. Not the prettiest one, but it is genuine and better than many: