Completion of Capped Bust Liberty Reeded Edge Half Dollar set from 1836 to 1839-O by die marriage
GoBust
Posts: 605 ✭✭✭✭✭
At the Baltimore show this weekend I was able to complete my Capped Bust Liberty Reeded Edge Half Dollar set by die marriage. These die marriages are based upon GR varieties (Graham-Reiver) published in Dick Graham's outstanding book "A Registry of Die Varieties of Reeded Edge Half Dollars".
My thanks goes out to Dick Graham for his mentoring and counsel on building the set as well as helping me to acquire several key coins in the collection. Dick was mentored by Jules Reiver. Jules had produced a small manual on Capped Liberty Reeded Edge Half Dollars that I used extensively before Dick published his book.
Its actually quite an enjoyable little set. Most of the varieties can be readily found for date set prices in grades AU and above. The steam powered press was obviously capable of producing wonderful strikes.
The set contained the first, last and only branch mint Capped Liberty silver coinage in 1839 made for circulation.
Hopefully a few other collectors might post some interesting reeded edge pieces of their own or even post another set! Feel free to leave comments on the set page.
Comments
Very impressive set @GoBust ! Your OP link is locked...possibly your personal link. Link fixed.
Is your set registered under "icrf03"?
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
That’s a fantastic accomplishment worth being proud of.
Latin American Collection
WTG! Another spectacular accomplishment.
Here's the public link anyone can view:
https://pcgs.com/SetRegistry/half-dollars/early-half-dollars-specialty-sets/capped-bust-half-dollars-reeded-edge-varieties-by-dick-graham-circulation-strikes-1836-1839/alltimeset/150551
And here's one of mine I like. PCGS graded it 58+.
Lance.
Yep, that is the ONE that I saw. Thanks for the clarification Lance.
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
Quite an achievement ! A lot of care and attention went into building your set!
Wow...two unique die marriages! Holy cow.
Lance.
I was prepared not to be blown away, it was even better than I thought it could be
Love the 39 small letters and 39-o in 66
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
WOW...what an accomplishment! Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations, GoBust. What a stellar accomplishment. I would have to change my name to WentBust merely trying to attain such a collection. Again, that is an impressive collection of beautiful coinage.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Wow - epic set!
Your registry page has the more accurate statement which allows for the famous 1838-O:
"These are the only branch mint Capped Liberty silver coins ever made for ciculation."
I agree. Damn, that small letters is tough!
Here are both.
Lance.
Nice avatar!
Holy Mackerel! I'm going to bookmark your set and go through it more closely later, but that is a heck of an accomplishment!
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Holy crap! What a set!
Agreed, what a good job here! Putting together a set like this is what keeps me interested in numismatics. Any single coin on its own is almost always obtainable, but putting together a fine set like this is the challenge.
another great accomplishment in set building! What's next?
WOW! Congrats. You sound like you need to be enjoying your success on a tropical island with a warm coconut drink!
Thanks Lance for correcting the link. I replaced it now. Also thanks for posting your set photographs of one of the most stunning, colorful reeded edge halves I've ever seen. I wanted to note that Dick Graham was the first to complete the set of circulation strikes and he allowed me to obtain the two unique 1839-O GR-2 and GR-3 halves for the set. I was able to obtain the Gardner specimen of the 1838-O [Eliasberg] which I crossed from NGC PR64 to PCGS PR64 CAC. So technically, I'm up to 56 die marriages; however, I wouldn't put it past the crowd here to find another die marriage fairly soon now that I'm complete!
https://pcgs.com/cert/25631608
One mystery for the series is that PCGS records a small letters reverse 1839 GR-1 in MS63, but no one can find any sales or auction records, photographs or reports concerning this potential coin. It's likely hidden away somewhere although its possible its an early typo in the population reports. I hope to see it someday soon. My 1839 GR-1 XF45+ set piece came from the fabulous Pogue collection. Brent Pogue outbid me handily [as he often did] in 2009 in the C. Joseph Thomas sale by Heritage. The coin was sold previously out of the Charlton "Swampy" Meyers Collection by Sheridan Downey in 2008 and was then reported as the finest known.
Thanks for all the positive feedback and yes 'Specialist" a warm coconut drink sounds superb.
Not sure what to work on next....ideas welcome.
Stunning set. Wow. April 2016 must have been a fun month for you.
@GoBust Congratulations on completing the set of Reeded Edge Half Dollar die marriages, and completing it in the condition you have! Well done!!!
W. David Perkins Numismatics - http://www.davidperkinsrarecoins.com/ - 25+ Years ANA, ANS, NLG, NBS, LM JRCS, LSCC, EAC, TAMS, LM CWTS, CSNS, FUN
What an incredible set. Simply amazing! Wish I still had my reeded halves.
The Whisker Cheek Collection - Top 50 Peace VAM Registry
Landmark Buffalo Collection
Wow, a beautiful set!
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
Congrats to you. The 1830's were an intriguing time frame for U.S. coins.
Congrats GoBust on such an amazing accomplishment!
A truly incredible set and one to be very proud of!!
Dave
Here's my favorite reeded edge half....
That is a most amazing accomplishment - and with such amazing quality to boot. Congrats are greatly in order! Like Lance and others said, I will need some time to review this set more closely. As a token, here is one of my few reeded edge half dollars - an 1838-O to boot (not quite up to your quality though)!
amazing achievement!
congrats
BHNC #203
Well done, sir. Congrats!
Congrats on completing the set as that's one heck of an accomplishment!
Personally I've always liked the thinner 36-39 design version of Ms. Liberty far better.
Congratulations on a difficult set.... Very nice coins.... Cheers, RickO
Great achievement, gratz
That a lovely 1837 half dollar Dave. Really great eye appeal.
Koinicker i think your counterfeit 1838-O is pretty cool as well. Thus far I have resisted starting a contempary counterfeit capped half dollar collection. I was tempted when Sheridan Downey's last auction had an 1836-O! I wonder how many different varities and eras have made 1838-O bogus coins either for a nefarious plan or just for fun for collectors who don't get to play with a genuine one?
Again thanks to all for taking a look. If you do get a chance to buy one of Dick Grahams books and you have interest in the series grab it. ITs been out of print and its surprisingly hard to find for such a recent publication.
There are now two varieties of 1838-O counterfeit CBH; the piece shown was a recent discovery. It was made by the same counterfeiter(s) who made the 1836-O and 1839-O varieties; in all there are at least 9 varieties associated to this die maker and counterfeiter.
Contemporary counterfeits are fun, but they aren't as sexy looking as your set!
Congratulations, Chuck, and well deserved. That 39 small letters is really amazing!
Tom
Here's another 36-O for you, GoBust, a little nudge maybe. I'm pretty sure Sheridan has an excellent source of CCCBH's for you.
And here's a very different contemporary counterfeit 38-O. (Apologies for the tangent.)
Lance.
Those are really cool Lance. Thx for posting them.
Great accomplishment and a beautiful set! Congratulations on its completion.
Simply amazing set!! Congrats on a job well done!!
Notable missing coin is the 1840 med letters half. while only half a reeded half die pair, it is as much of one as a 39 GR-1 which mules a bust obv with a seated rev where the more common 40 mule marries a seated obv with a 39o bust rev
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
Great set! Always appreciate when collectors share their achievements with the forum.
Would lov e to learn about the journey!
Thats very interesting Crypto. Reviewing the reverse dies used in the 1839-O strikings, there are no matches to the die cracks on the 1840 reverse of 1838 half dollar. I understand 1840 obverse 6 was used on that Liberty Seated variety and the next seated die marriage with a reverse with a small eagle and an O mint mark. This implies of course that the obverse die was being used in New Orleans. Has anyone reported which 1839 reverse die was employed in New Orleans? Several of the reverse dies used to strike 1839 Reeded Edge Capped Halves in Philadelphia were reported as prime that could have cracked later. What is the earliest die state known of the 1840 (O) medium letters?
Of course a die available in New Orleans, but not used for Capped halves, seems the most likely explanation, but most of the examples I'm seeing online have extensive cracks suggesting it was a work horse die with longetivity even with multiple severe cracks.
Would love to learn more about this from the Liberty seated experts here on the forum. Dick Graham might have some thoughts as well. His book states all the dies were defaced and one was held over to used with the Seated coinage.
Always more to learn. Certainly makes a case for more study.
As an aside we so often classify coins more by their obverse than reverse. Seems a little biased since each is only a flip of a coin from being on top. Good night all and thx for your musings.
Wow! good job!
What an excellent set!
A super set and a wonderful accomplishment, GoBust!!!
I remember when Dick Graham showed me his complete set of circulation strike die marriages. It's hard to believe that there are two die marriages that are unique, especially since the book has been out for a few years.
And there is some further good news - - The Dick Graham Reeded Edge Half Dollars book is being reprinted and should be available at the FUN show!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
That's dedication and a truly great set!
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Rich, I was very happy to hear that Dick has decided to do a second printing of his fabulous book. So many people have asked how can they find a copy, so I know there is strong demand for his wonderful treatise. Thank Dick!
What an amazing set. A tremendous amount of work must’ve gone into that. A hearty congratulations!
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Your collections are amazing. Yet another huge accomplishment for the ultimate islander!
It's quite amazing. When the book first was published, Dick and those of us who were distributing the book were wondering how we would ever sell them all! It took a couple years, then the demand went through the roof, so it is great that Dick is having a second printing done!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Not sure if this short and sweet series will gain more interest over the next ten years. What do you think? Was able to update a few coins since completing. The new 1839-O GR-4 was previously considered a proof in its last two auction appearances and was described as such by Breen. I am not aware of higher grades examples. Formerly owned by Sheridan Downey who purchased this coin as his first Capped Bust Half dollar. He was contacted by the owner to find a new home and then my cell buzzed. It's a medal turn coin with a very presentation piece like appearance. New Orleans specimen strike reeded edge halves do not look like their proof counterpart Philadelphia sisters. What do others think?