One of my most difficult (and rewarding!!!) attribution challenges
Omegaraptor
Posts: 528 ✭✭✭✭✭
This thread may make me a laughing stock around here - but hey, this hobby is supposed to be fun.
I love a good attribution challenge - pulling a variety off a far-gone Large Cent, early silver coin, etc. Feels like I'm bringing coins back from the unknown.
So I was at EAC yesterday and obtained this toasted out large cent for $5. It is on a thick planchet and has remnant edge lettering (although pretty far gone), so we know it's 1793-95. I felt like I saw beads on the edge... hence I took the chance.
So the first thing I noticed is in the red circle. I noticed a remnant T which I later concluded to be the second T in STATES. Off this little piece of information, I noticed three things.
1) This T is too small to be on a 1794 large cent.
2) Above the T, I felt like I was seeing beads - which would make it a '93 Cap. IF it is... the position of the beads relative to the T rules out S-13, S-14, S-16, and NC-6.
3) The fraction is also barely visible (particularly the numerator 1), as well as some of the stem area around the fraction. This doesn't photograph well, but it's there.
Some more remnants of what seems to be beads...
So I got into some DMs with an EAC guy I know. He asked to see the edge, and luckily, DOLLAR was still barely visible. Right after DOLLAR is the leaf - if it's pointing up, it's a 1794-style edge. If it's pointing down - it can only be a 1793 Wreath with LE, 1793 Cap, or 1794 with Head of '93. And from the reverse stem area visible, I knew it wasn't a '93 Wreath with LE.
It's pointing down. BIG news. This narrows it down significantly. I looked at the obverse and tried to make some sense of it. I was able to tilt it around in the light and locate about where the Liberty Cap figure was. From there I looked below and was able to see date fragments, particularly a 7 (pointed at), although most of the rest is unfortunately toasted. It seems to be the correct style of 7 for the 93 Cap:
Then I looked towards the top of the obverse. The '93 Caps used a unique R in LIBERTY with a very long leg on the R. I believe it is, miraculously, visible, as shown here. Note the top loop of the R in the middle of the circle, and then the leg visible to the south-east. Oh, also, more edge beads in this closeup.
At this point, I was just about dead confident, with the few remaining details I had, that I had a '93 Liberty Cap. The reverse T is simply too small for any 1794 variety. I just couldn't figure out which of the six die pairs it was. So close, and yet so far.
Then I remembered something. The final piece of the puzzle.
Die rotation.
I've used it to figure out some totally gone large cents before. I realized when poking this coin around that the reverse is rotated slightly counterclockwise. I went on Heritage and looked up every variety from S-12 to S-20. Some of the 1794 with '93 heads are rotated slightly clockwise, most are in normal orientation. The only ones rotated CCW are S-12 and S-13. Between these two, the visible reverse T rules out S-13 as the beads are improperly aligned.
All in all, I am left with reasonable confidence - although not absolute certainty - that this coin is a 1793 Liberty Cap, S-12, R-6-. I don't know what something like this is worth, even if I could convince another collector it's a '93 Cap (not easy). Probably the worst one in existence (if it even is), out of the 300 or so that are known in collector hands. But hey, it's mine.
"You can't get just one gun." "You can't get just one tattoo." "You can't get just one 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent."
Comments
Way to go, not a pretty one. I have one that is not pretty either, and from what I hear is hard or not possible to assign a Sheldon number to. Corrosion is not forgiving.
I like your post and think you may have it, but I can guarantee that if you were a new member with some sort of out-of-the-box smiley face avatar that every response you would receive would contain the same word-
pareidolia
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Any chance a photo of the image your describing.
It would help me.
What ?
If you were able to get this coin into a slab (poor-1 details), attributed to the year & number you think it is, what would it be worth? I honestly have no clue to the value of something like this, but it reminds me of a dateless 1916 slq worn so badly that you can only identify with pick up points, and those specimens sell fairly well.
Emotionally and numismatically very cool.
Financially, probably not so significant.
But, like you say, it's fun, and that's the whole point, I think.
Any chance someone here is savvy enough to do an overlay from a higher grade coin onto OP's coin. That would be pretty cool to see.
USAF (Ret.) 1985 - 2005. E-4B Aircraft Maintenance Crew Chief and Contracting Officer.
My current Registry sets:
✓ Everyman Mint State Carson City Morgan Dollars (1878 – 1893)
✓ Everyman Mint State Lincoln Cents (1909 – 1958)
✓ Morgan Dollar GSA Hoard (1878 – 1891)
As Carl Sagan said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I wouldn’t say the smiley face guys usually bring extraordinary evidence to argue that their corroded slug is really a rarity. Really had to flesh out my attribution process here.
"You can't get just one gun." "You can't get just one tattoo." "You can't get just one 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent."
FUN. The one word that defines coin collecting.
There has to be some fun in it. Collecting, IMHOP, is what you make of it, including having fun.
The rewards could be immense, but besides that the satisfaction gleaned from hard work and study is reward enough.
Pete
At first, I thought it was a slice of pepperoni.
On the web: http://www.earlyus.com
I completely understand the attribution challenge, especially if it could be a 1793 Liberty Cap! No worries on whether it will sticker or not. Also a grade rarity.
Pareidolia gone wild!
Actually, if you can back up your assertions with facts acceptable to the right people who know the series (which does not include me in this case) then it's a fantastic bit of sleuthing and a real accomplishment.
You get an A for analysis, in my book, brother (or sister). Intense read and disciplined study. Don't go blind trying to convince the experts. But if it's gratifying... the read is certainly satisfying. Awesome.