Nice coin! Amazing date for die cracks. This is the "baseball die crack" of the cracked up 1843s. Do you know how many reeds it has? EDS -144 reeds, LDS - 145 reeds.
My first attempt at cell phone photography (well, my gf helped with the cellphone). Both coins are mid to late die state 1855/54 coins cherry picked off of eBay.
Coin#1 - photo exaggerates the wiping on this coin but captures much of its toning.
Coin#2 - photos fail to capture most of the colorful toning on this coin. The obverse is more darkly and evenly toned than it appears here.
I'm gonna have to tinker with lighting angles to get a better representation of these coins' overall toning and color. Though each coin has been messed with to a degree (Coin#1 - wiped, Coin#2 - dipped) I believe they will both straight-grade, with coin#2 having better non-abraded surfaces and less wear. What do others think here? Any lighting suggestions to bring out color or is it try, try again until one gets it correct.
Color / white balance is one of the big weaknesses of taking photos with a cell phone.
Trying using sunlight or incandescent and a white or grey background.
If you are lucky, one of these combinations will yield close to the actual color.
Nice coin! Amazing date for die cracks. This is the "baseball die crack" of the cracked up 1843s. Do you know how many reeds it has? EDS -144 reeds, LDS - 145 reeds.
Due to the holder ring insert I have no way to verify.
Nice coin! Amazing date for die cracks. This is the "baseball die crack" of the cracked up 1843s. Do you know how many reeds it has? EDS -144 reeds, LDS - 145 reeds.
Due to the holder ring insert I have no way to verify.
I realize that and I must have deleted my comment that it's impossible without removing the holder ring. My apologies. A pronged holder would at least enable one to estimate the coin's diameter, which also changed with collar die changes.
Better yet, one can still determine the die state by looking for die lines at the bottom of the reverse shield. I cannot see this well enough in the photo to decide. Anyway, the die states have the same roughly estimated rarity, so there isn't much incentive to check other than knowing.
I've been looking for an 1839-O dime with good eye appeal for several years, but even high grade examples tend to fall short. Then I encountered this piece:
As a bonus, I think it's a Pop 1/0 for the variety.
@rhedden said:
Whew - there's a tough group to assemble.
Thank you Rhedden! If memory serves, I recall you are an expert Seated Quarter fellow. You have your share of rare dates as well! More tough Seated Quarters than dimes.
Thanks for your comment. I first saw that example on Gerry's site a few weeks ago, and the reverse die cracks are definitely much more spectacular than on mine. Interesting to contemplate the production conditions in the New Orleans mint in 1838/39.
@rhedden said:
Whew - there's a tough group to assemble.
Thank you Rhedden! If memory serves, I recall you are an expert Seated Quarter fellow. You have your share of rare dates as well! More tough Seated Quarters than dimes.
Yeah, it's not even close between quarters and halves here. My Seated 25c are in great shape, and once I find a certain P-mint in a PCGS holder, the set will be complete in PCGS holders - mostly F12 through AU, with many MS63-67 pieces in the later dates. I can almost count my Seated 10c on one hand, and the only nice ones I have are proofs. At the time I started collecting Seated material, the dime varieties had already been well-described and had an active following, so I never took an interest in them.
Some nice half dimes.
FYI, here are my attributions and die markers:
1847 V-4a cracks 184, S7-head-S8
1850 V-5 low date, uncracked rev.
1850-O V-1A crack S3 to west, most stars, O high
(There are finished attribution guides for the above 3, but not for the next 4)
1853 V-? hubbed date with pointed 5 flag (majority of obverses), can't see rev. cracks
1854 V-9 MPD 8 in dentils under 5, rev. file marks above T2A, clash T2-leaves-O
1861 V-16 pendant above center of 6
1862 V-3 date position
1849-O, XF-45+. I believe this to be an early die state of WB-5, the date placement with a visible tine on the upper right of the 1, mint mark and reverse die crack above the first T in STATES appear to match the variety though there are no indications of the diagonal lines in the lower left of the reverse shield. Intersting doubling on Liberty's face and most of the obverse stars as well as the 849 have strong doubling profiles.
Just a couple of circ half dimes that are fully original. Personally, I think the grades are pretty much identical, but the '38 graded 45 and the '53 graded 50
@TPRC said:
Just a couple of circ half dimes that are fully original. Personally, I think the grades are pretty much identical, but the '38 graded 45 and the '53 graded 50
FYI, this is a nice 1838 V-1 EDS, before the rust pits on the arm show up.
The main die marker is the repunched star 3.
I can also see the parallel rust lines in the field right of the arm that are visible on other EDSs.
This one has the hubbed date and arrows with the pointed 5 flag;
about half the 1853 obverses use this hub, which makes them very hard to attribute to a specific die pair.
Nothing fancy. A likely F2-AG3 55/54 (don't have the coin yet), though this time there was another bidder who raised the final price ($61) to 30% below Coin Prices' retail price. No doubt another picker who liked its original look and lowball potential. I'm primarily picking rather than collecting lowballs but recognized its potential as a straight grade, lowball coin at the last minute and raised my bid just enough to win it.
Also, an 1840-O WB9 "baseball die crack" reverse (R4). This is the better baseball die crack in terms of resembling a baseball than the 1841-O WB2, IMO. However, the 1841-O WB2 is an R5, has more die breaks, and commands a higher premium. The coin has some light corrosion and has been cleaned in the past, but I couldn't resist the chance to obtain one for my 1840-O die marriage set.
The coins above arrived and they're, ahem, not nice.
The 1855 was indeed a 55/54 as I had surmised, but the date area is so worn and corroded that I could barely find the diagnostic characters. I was able to clearly see the underlying 8, and the doubled flag on the first 5 "looks right" and lends some support for the overdate. However, seeing the 4-bar on the 2nd 5, everyone's favorite diagnostic, is a tug of war between pareidolia and reality. I've looked at it enough that I believe reality wins, which is reassuring. Anyway, the underlying 8 is all that's needed to verify the overdate. I paid 3X what it's worth on the eBay market.
The 1840-O WB9 is better but shows hairlines from past wiping or cleaning. Probably paid 50% more than the price for a problem-free common die marriage (R2-R3), but this isn't exactly a common die marriage (R4) and true baseball die crack 40-Os and 41-Os are popular die marriages.
The march continues in my Seated Half Dime collection. Three new additions, the '48 and '53-O courtesy of the Great Collections auction this past weekend:
@JRGeyer said:
The march continues in my Seated Half Dime collection. Three new additions, the '48 and '53-O courtesy of the Great Collections auction this past weekend:
Some more good ones! My attributions for the die pairs:
1854-O V-5 The characteristic obverse cracks are visible at S6 and S8, and the reverse has the shallow O and weak ERI.
1853-O V-6 This has the repunched mint mark, same as the V-1 no arrows reverse. It has a slightly concave and ragged upper left edge. There should also be repunching visible in the lower inner curve of the O, but toning is there which makes it hard to see from the photo.
1848 V-5 Obv. date center, Rev. cool bisecting die crack E1 - C. Normally a bisecting crack is enough to make it a Top 100 half dime variety, but in this case the Top 100 spot was stolen by the V-9, which has the same reverse crack, plus a far right date.
@JRGeyer said:
The march continues in my Seated Half Dime collection. Three new additions, the '48 and '53-O courtesy of the Great Collections auction this past weekend:
The 1854-O half dime is very tough to find in AU or better. I think it gets overlooked because other 1854-O denominations are plentiful.
Comments
Nice! I like that one. 👍
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1860-O 10c PCGS VF
1885-s 10c PCGS F-15 CAC
Nice coin! Amazing date for die cracks. This is the "baseball die crack" of the cracked up 1843s. Do you know how many reeds it has? EDS -144 reeds, LDS - 145 reeds.
My first attempt at cell phone photography (well, my gf helped with the cellphone). Both coins are mid to late die state 1855/54 coins cherry picked off of eBay.
Coin#1 - photo exaggerates the wiping on this coin but captures much of its toning.
Coin#2 - photos fail to capture most of the colorful toning on this coin. The obverse is more darkly and evenly toned than it appears here.
I'm gonna have to tinker with lighting angles to get a better representation of these coins' overall toning and color. Though each coin has been messed with to a degree (Coin#1 - wiped, Coin#2 - dipped) I believe they will both straight-grade, with coin#2 having better non-abraded surfaces and less wear. What do others think here? Any lighting suggestions to bring out color or is it try, try again until one gets it correct.
Color / white balance is one of the big weaknesses of taking photos with a cell phone.
Trying using sunlight or incandescent and a white or grey background.
If you are lucky, one of these combinations will yield close to the actual color.
Due to the holder ring insert I have no way to verify.
I realize that and I must have deleted my comment that it's impossible without removing the holder ring. My apologies. A pronged holder would at least enable one to estimate the coin's diameter, which also changed with collar die changes.
Better yet, one can still determine the die state by looking for die lines at the bottom of the reverse shield. I cannot see this well enough in the photo to decide. Anyway, the die states have the same roughly estimated rarity, so there isn't much incentive to check other than knowing.
Again, it's a nice, original-looking coin.
I've been looking for an 1839-O dime with good eye appeal for several years, but even high grade examples tend to fall short. Then I encountered this piece:
As a bonus, I think it's a Pop 1/0 for the variety.
Nice coin and cool shattered reverse.
https://www.seateddimevarieties.com/date_mintmark/1839o_106apage.htm
Thank you Rhedden! If memory serves, I recall you are an expert Seated Quarter fellow. You have your share of rare dates as well! More tough Seated Quarters than dimes.
I’d be interested to hear thoughts from fellow Seated set builders as to how you would rank the comparative rarity of each denomination.
Thanks for your comment. I first saw that example on Gerry's site a few weeks ago, and the reverse die cracks are definitely much more spectacular than on mine. Interesting to contemplate the production conditions in the New Orleans mint in 1838/39.
A tough date from GFRC in PCGS VF35
The check is in the mail.
Yeah, it's not even close between quarters and halves here. My Seated 25c are in great shape, and once I find a certain P-mint in a PCGS holder, the set will be complete in PCGS holders - mostly F12 through AU, with many MS63-67 pieces in the later dates. I can almost count my Seated 10c on one hand, and the only nice ones I have are proofs. At the time I started collecting Seated material, the dime varieties had already been well-described and had an active following, so I never took an interest in them.
Freshly graded from PCGS
Some nice half dimes.
FYI, here are my attributions and die markers:
1847 V-4a cracks 184, S7-head-S8
1850 V-5 low date, uncracked rev.
1850-O V-1A crack S3 to west, most stars, O high
(There are finished attribution guides for the above 3, but not for the next 4)
1853 V-? hubbed date with pointed 5 flag (majority of obverses), can't see rev. cracks
1854 V-9 MPD 8 in dentils under 5, rev. file marks above T2A, clash T2-leaves-O
1861 V-16 pendant above center of 6
1862 V-3 date position
Great coins!
My YouTube Channel
A recent acquisition...
...yep, it's the overdate, unatrributed at the moment.
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...
1866 Motto, WB-1, 6 in Dentils, XF-45. Top of the errant six is visible below the last digit. Edited to reflect WB-1, not WB-6.
Nice coin. The extra 6 is easily visible. I believe the 1866 "6 in dentils" is die marriage WB-1, though. Undoubtedly a typo.
One of my 1866-S with Motto (WB-3) has a similar heavy patina as shown in the seller's photos below.
@JRGeyer great 1850 O.
1849-O, XF-45+. I believe this to be an early die state of WB-5, the date placement with a visible tine on the upper right of the 1, mint mark and reverse die crack above the first T in STATES appear to match the variety though there are no indications of the diagonal lines in the lower left of the reverse shield. Intersting doubling on Liberty's face and most of the obverse stars as well as the 849 have strong doubling profiles.
Just a couple of circ half dimes that are fully original. Personally, I think the grades are pretty much identical, but the '38 graded 45 and the '53 graded 50
Tom
FYI, this is a nice 1838 V-1 EDS, before the rust pits on the arm show up.
The main die marker is the repunched star 3.
I can also see the parallel rust lines in the field right of the arm that are visible on other EDSs.
This one has the hubbed date and arrows with the pointed 5 flag;
about half the 1853 obverses use this hub, which makes them very hard to attribute to a specific die pair.
Thank you kindly!!!
Tom
Recent pickup, 1871-CC, WB-6, XF-40.
I was watching that coin at GC. I was sorely tempted. Congratulations.
OUCH!!!! Sweet!
Tom
Photoshop flip?
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
Has anyone seen the valuation of Seated has gone up again in CoinFacts? nifty!
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
Half dollars sure do have a lot of green up-arrows.
1845-O, WB-16, Dramatically Doubled Date, XF45
Here's four that I like.
USN & USAF retired 1971-1993
Successful Transactions with more than 100 Members
Nothing fancy. A likely F2-AG3 55/54 (don't have the coin yet), though this time there was another bidder who raised the final price ($61) to 30% below Coin Prices' retail price. No doubt another picker who liked its original look and lowball potential. I'm primarily picking rather than collecting lowballs but recognized its potential as a straight grade, lowball coin at the last minute and raised my bid just enough to win it.
Also, an 1840-O WB9 "baseball die crack" reverse (R4). This is the better baseball die crack in terms of resembling a baseball than the 1841-O WB2, IMO. However, the 1841-O WB2 is an R5, has more die breaks, and commands a higher premium. The coin has some light corrosion and has been cleaned in the past, but I couldn't resist the chance to obtain one for my 1840-O die marriage set.
The coins above arrived and they're, ahem, not nice.
The 1855 was indeed a 55/54 as I had surmised, but the date area is so worn and corroded that I could barely find the diagnostic characters. I was able to clearly see the underlying 8, and the doubled flag on the first 5 "looks right" and lends some support for the overdate. However, seeing the 4-bar on the 2nd 5, everyone's favorite diagnostic, is a tug of war between pareidolia and reality. I've looked at it enough that I believe reality wins, which is reassuring. Anyway, the underlying 8 is all that's needed to verify the overdate. I paid 3X what it's worth on the eBay market.
The 1840-O WB9 is better but shows hairlines from past wiping or cleaning. Probably paid 50% more than the price for a problem-free common die marriage (R2-R3), but this isn't exactly a common die marriage (R4) and true baseball die crack 40-Os and 41-Os are popular die marriages.
I'll grit my teeth and keep them both.
The march continues in my Seated Half Dime collection. Three new additions, the '48 and '53-O courtesy of the Great Collections auction this past weekend:
I am a newer collector (started April 2020), and I primarily focus on U.S. Half Cents and Type Coins. Early copper is my favorite.
Some more good ones! My attributions for the die pairs:
1854-O V-5 The characteristic obverse cracks are visible at S6 and S8, and the reverse has the shallow O and weak ERI.
1853-O V-6 This has the repunched mint mark, same as the V-1 no arrows reverse. It has a slightly concave and ragged upper left edge. There should also be repunching visible in the lower inner curve of the O, but toning is there which makes it hard to see from the photo.
1848 V-5 Obv. date center, Rev. cool bisecting die crack E1 - C. Normally a bisecting crack is enough to make it a Top 100 half dime variety, but in this case the Top 100 spot was stolen by the V-9, which has the same reverse crack, plus a far right date.
Low mintage double dime...
A Barber Quartet is made up of Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, and Halves.
It's been a while since I posted here. This one I just moved along but I owned it for a while. PC-45 CAC...
Sent in a few raw coins and recently got some grades and TrueViews back.
Seated Dollar Collection
The 1854-O half dime is very tough to find in AU or better. I think it gets overlooked because other 1854-O denominations are plentiful.
Cracked out of an NGC AU55 holder for the 7070
The battle scars of all the good times
PCGS AU-58....
PCGS AU 55
The battle scars of all the good times