1805 Rev. B is a cruel mistress

planonit

I am always on the lookout for O-114 and I have a habit of looking at the reverse first to make sure it is Rev. B (The berries and die crack are easy tells even in low grade).

The problem is that Obverse 4 and 5 are not super different. The key (for me) is the proximity of Star 8 to Y and the angle of the bottom part of star 9.

Still when I see coins like this for about 5 seconds my brain thinks "WE DID IT"


One Day I'll Find You 114

Nysoto

The 1805 "Small 5" half dollar T-7/O.107 and T-8/O.114 have a fairly distinctive date that stands out in person, but can be tricky on an image. With Overton, obverse 4 has a higher and wider date that stands out to me, and obverse 6 is also similar to obv 5 in the date. The stars 7, 8, and 1 can confirm attribution on these.

The 1805 Small 5 is also a good catch in T-7/O.107. I believe it is a strong R-5+ rarity and is a sleeper. It should be a Redbook variety. The T-7/O.107 is very unusual in that both dies are only found in perfect state on coins, with no cracks or apparent lapping. Something must have happened to end the usage of these dies that remains unknown to collectors. I have the Noblet coin in OGH PCGS AU50 that is the Tompkins plate coin, and another raw VF from Stacks. There is an unlisted small die gouge over ERI on this coin.

There are lots of rarities to chase in the Draped Bust half dollar series!