A friend of mine who has collected CBH's for nearly 50 years says the hardest date in the CBH series is the 1809. Hands down.

I'm not totally sure I agree with him, but other than 1815, I think he's probably right.

Because of the number of die marriages for 1809, and the mintage differences between them, I still believe the 1815 the overall rarest DATE (although there are much more difficult Die Marriages in the CBH world).

When it comes to 1809's, they're all relatively difficult, although this variety is considered a "key".

I was the underbidder on this exact coin at Sheridan Downey's MB55, and since I was the high bidder when the auction closed for internet bidding, I was a bit miffed. Maybe even pissed.

But low and behold, the buyer didn't have any staying power, and the coin showed up again a mere 9 months later when I won her for substantially less than what I would have paid had I won the auction before.

Sometimes, even a squirrel like me finds a nut. She's still one of my absolute favorites.

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1809 O-102 XXX Edge