@WildWestHalfDollars said:
Coffee in hand going to watch college football all day and eat some good food. Just started collecting US half dollars this was my first pick up. I like coins in the G-04 to F-12 ranges (the more expensive ones can just be authentic).
Sorry for being nosy, but with over 6600 posts and a handle like "WildWestHalfDollars," you're just now starting to collect US half dollars? That 54-O is very nice. It's a great date for finding nice coins.
Here's my favorite 54-O of the three I own.
And in a moment of self-awareness after two Monster energy drinks, look who's asking - A guy named "Barberian" who hasn't acquired a Barber half in over 15 years.
Just retired from collecting Latin American coins (personal reasons) and made the name change not long ago. I was either going to do US dimes or half dollars seems like the half dollars are my new pursuit.
That was my first guess after seeing you collected Reals, but I didn't know one could change their handle without losing their post count. Welcome to collecting Seated Liberty halves! I like choice low-grade coins as well. This G6 1876-CC now belongs to another low-grade SLH fan on this board.
I really like the CC coins (not cheap but doable in my case) I am going to go after 1794 onwards (minus 1796, 1797 and a few others) up to the end of liberty caps. Will take the remainder of my life and that is fine with me. Just going to add a bunch every year and at some point will reach my goal....in no rush. The 1794 I will be able to afford once I sell some of my key Latin American coins (that may be in 2025 or 2026 will see).
It's fun to collect that way. Seated half dollars were fun to collect at the start because there are so many relatively common dates that one could just look for a nice example raw on eBay and not worry about duplicating purchases. I ended up bagging duplicates that I liked, anyway. As I acquired more coins, the search for a particular so-called common date has become more difficult. I was amazed that it took several months to find a 56-O that I liked, and it was raw instead of a graded coin.
@Barberian. So true. At first Seated Halves appear to be almost like Morgan dollars. They are large silver coins and, at least for this collector, it always seems there are more Halves up for sale at any given time than all the other denominations combined.
Then you start looking for attractive coins. You start searching for what is suppose to be a common date, which it is, but there is a sea of ugly coins; scratched coins, corroded coins, coins that have been dipped to death etc. Thats just the coins IN straight graded slabs.
Two years later you find you still haven't found this "common date". Unfortunately, lately it seems too many people have also discovered this fact. James
@seatedlib3991 said: @Barberian. So true. At first Seated Halves appear to be almost like Morgan dollars. They are large silver coins and, at least for this collector, it always seems there are more Halves up for sale at any given time than all the other denominations combined.
Then you start looking for attractive coins. You start searching for what is suppose to be a common date, which it is, but there is a sea of ugly coins; scratched coins, corroded coins, coins that have been dipped to death etc. Thats just the coins IN straight graded slabs.
Two years later you find you still haven't found this "common date". Unfortunately, lately it seems too many people have also discovered this fact. James
The search I enjoy very much. Having collected Latin American coins I am am more than use to it. Sometimes it would take years and years to find a date in any condition. So that part does not bother me at all.
VG10 for the 59-S?? I had to look up the cert number to see if this was a typo. Apparently not! Will someone please explain to me why this coin is not at least vf25?
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Saturday morning and I'll be off and away for a while today.
Hopefully back around noon to update my silly Broken thread with the '27/6.
This one goes back to the ANA this summer. I missed some of the strongest coins that came out of that show, and had to pay up for a couple that got flipped from one dealer to another before I caught them (including this one). I am still pleased to pick this one up from Phil at Eye Appealing for the Die Marriage set.
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. 1822 O-113 (113.1) P55cac
Hard satin luster grace nearly mark-free surfaces and a strong strike with soft russet grey-blue toning and just a few whispy hairlines.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Very nice @pursuitofliberty Your favorite date Let's go Seattle (since the Brewers could not compete with the payroll heavy Dodgers).
The fun part of starting a new project is searching and locating great coins to begin the journey. I have been very lucky the last two weeks or so. Several more on the way but here is the start.
Happy Saturday everyone. Peloton, done. Coffee, almost done. Heading out to be with family, priceless.
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I just picked up this recent win from the fine folks at Heritage at USMex show. It is the sixth known chopmarked 59-S and (I believe) the 12th known chopmarked SLD of any date.
@Inspired70 said:
Happy Saturday everyone! Love a good Saturday with Fall colors!
That's a stunning Morgan dollar! I love when the leaves turn blue-green in the fall!
. . . . .
I finally filled the 1875-S slot for my collection this morning before I even grabbed a cup of coffee. The seller accepted my offer while I was asleep and I wasn't notified. I thought it had been sold out from under me when I checked eBay two hours ago. I looked at "sold" coins in the eBay archive, hit on the coin, and surprisingly found out that I actually won it and apparently, they had already tapped into my PayPal account. First time that's happened. The coffee tastes great today!
1875-S WB-19 VG8
The plate coin for WB-19 on PCGS (another surprise)
Finally got back a little trinket from PCGS that I submitted at ANA. This 17-105.7 was Henry hilgard’s and then our very own @habaraca phil Soditch’s. Remained raw its entire life until this summer. Just a VF 25. Likely a higher grade but the die was basically falling apart at this point.
@seatedlib3991 and @Barberian Thanks Guys! I am thrilled to own this half, and it's a piece I treasure. She is deserving of the accolades! From the Eugene Gardner Heritage sale in 2014, but prior to that the provenance is murky.
Gardner had this to say about it: A spectacular, absolutely flawless coin with wonderful eye appeal. I doubt there are any out there that are the equal of this coin. From a 2002 Heritage auction where the cataloguers termed it "certainly among the finest extant No Motto Seated half dollars of any date."
@Mitchell said:
I picked this up on a whim years ago. At first, I thought “Why?!?!”
Now, I love it and am now inspired to build a CC chopmark collection.
Nice coin! A fantastic pursuit, if I do say so myself.
I don't know how much you have looked into the various populations. It is not an easy set to complete, although immensely rewarding.
If you are near the Winter Baltimore Whitman show, most of the top chopmarked trade dollar collectors will be having a get together on Thursday 11/6 at the show.
@Mitchell said:
I picked this up on a whim years ago. At first, I thought “Why?!?!”
Now, I love it and am now inspired to build a CC chopmarked collection.
Nice coin! A fantastic pursuit, if I do say so myself.
I don't know how much you have looked into the various populations. It is not an easy set to complete, although immensely rewarding.
If you are near the Winter Baltimore Whitman show, most of the top chopmarked trade dollar collectors will be having a get together on Thursday 11/6 at the show.
Interesting idea but I'm in the Pacific Northwest. It'll be an expedition to get out there.
Hmmmm I haven't been to a nice coin show in a while though......
Successful BST: dmwjr, ike126, bajjerfan, morganman94, sonoradesertrat, 12voltman, duiguy, gsaguy, gsa1fan, martin, coinfame, zas107, bothuwui, gerard, kccoin, jtwitten, robcool, coinscoins, mountain_goat, and a few more.
@Mitchell said:
I picked this up on a whim years ago. At first, I thought “Why?!?!”
Now, I love it and am now inspired to build a CC chopmarked collection.
Nice coin! A fantastic pursuit, if I do say so myself.
I don't know how much you have looked into the various populations. It is not an easy set to complete, although immensely rewarding.
If you are near the Winter Baltimore Whitman show, most of the top chopmarked trade dollar collectors will be having a get together on Thursday 11/6 at the show.
Interesting idea but I'm in the Pacific Northwest. It'll be an expedition to get out there.
Hmmmm I haven't been to a nice coin show in a while though......
Ha - I also just recently got a cc chopmarked (75) on a bit of a whim; and from the PNW (the "WA" in my handle). Small world.
This Tuesday evening I am playing with these coins (shockingly not a Cameo proof to be found!!!).
The coins range from about 450BC to 1956 and were minted in ancient Greece, Saxony in Germany, Austrailia and the USA mints of Philly and San Francisco.
The grades of the slabbed coins are G4, EF40, AU50, MS63, MS64, MS64, MS65plus, and PF67plus.
They are copper and silver.
The2/3 Thaler is a Top Pop.
The Peace Dollar is a toned lusterbomb.
The Morgan Dollar was obtained by my parents from a bank in 1962 and given to me. It has been with me for 63 years now.
The capped bust half has been with me for about 47 years.
Good morning to all. Temps have dropped. Done with 90 minutes on the Peloton. Done with coffee, and time to play with some of the new "old holders" that have arrived. My first Doily and it looks nice. Also my first scarce Gen 2.2 holders. Added another CAC Ratt Commem to the set as well.
Oh my Darrell @Inspired70 Wow! How can I even follow that?!!
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If you don’t see me post for a while it is because I am out of the country, living a different kind of dream.
Hopefully I will come home with some fantastic nature images, stories of awesome fishing, hiking and kayaking, and maybe even a few pounds lighter, with some more color (it's Spring there), and with a few more crinkles to show for it.
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Here’s one from the recent submission I do not think I have shown. I would share a free hand of her, but she’s packed away in a box for a vacation in New Jersey with some of her Sisters while I'm off on the other side of the world.
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“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Oh my Darrell @Inspired70 Wow! How can I even follow that?!!
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If you don’t see me post for a while it is because I am out of the country, living a different kind of dream.
Hopefully I will come home with some fantastic nature images, stories of awesome fishing, hiking and kayaking, and maybe even a few pounds lighter, with some more color (it's Spring there), and with a few more crinkles to show for it.
Here’s one from the recent submission I do not think I have shown. I would share a free hand of her, but she’s packed away in a box for a vacation in New Jersey with some of her Sisters while I'm off on the other side of the world.
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Sounds like a trip to New Zealand. Have fun wherever you're going.
Good morning my Saturday morning coins and coffee folks -
Today, I am not playing tennis this AM so I already had 2 cups of coffee.
For my second cup of coffee, I was looking for something fun to post. So I thought of this -
I found in the basement, my oldest collection that I still own. Here is a BU set of Lincolns that I completed in 1974 never knew that I owned until a few weeks ago. Ain't worth much today but who cares. I still have it and still collecting. How cool is that!
So a thought, show off your oldest coin from your collection (Not mintage date but length of time that you owned it - I owned this for about 51 years!
Oh my Darrell @Inspired70 Wow! How can I even follow that?!!
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If you don’t see me post for a while it is because I am out of the country, living a different kind of dream.
Hopefully I will come home with some fantastic nature images, stories of awesome fishing, hiking and kayaking, and maybe even a few pounds lighter, with some more color (it's Spring there), and with a few more crinkles to show for it.
.
Here’s one from the recent submission I do not think I have shown. I would share a free hand of her, but she’s packed away in a box for a vacation in New Jersey with some of her Sisters while I'm off on the other side of the world.
Just love the coins being posted on this thread each week. Each coin is a treasurer to view! My favorite thread....... @pursuitofliberty - I love the 1821 half from the June 1977 Stacks auction. Did you get the coin at that auction. I attended that auction and still have my coins that I won from waaaaay back then!.
@EastonCollection said:
Just love the coins being posted on this thread each week. Each coin is a treasurer to view! My favorite thread....... @pursuitofliberty - I love the 1821 half from the June 1977 Stacks auction. Did you get the coin at that auction. I attended that auction and still have my coins that I won from waaaaay back then!.
I absolutely agree with you on the coins that get posted here, and this being my favorite, "must see" thread every week @EastonCollection
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Regarding your question about the 1977 Stacks Auction ... haha! ... Nope, I wasn't quite into Numismatics like I am now back then. In fact, in June of 1977 I was just shy of 13 years old, and I think chasing girls, playing guitar, and swimming and diving were the bulk of my passions!
I actually picked that one up out of the very unusual Stephenville auction at Heritage in the Fall of 2023. It sold at Sheridan's MB55 auction earlier that year. Not exactly sure if Gehring Prouty bought it from the 1977 Auction, but I think that is the case. Either that or he bought it shortly thereafter.
In reference to the MB55 Sale, the consignor of the Stephenville Sale bid very strong money and won more than a few coins from that Auction ... as he had done with other auctions over the previous year. It was amazing to many of us who recognized the coins in the sale that he would sell them all so quickly after acquisition ... in this case a scant 9 months after the MB55 sale.
But alas, I was the lucky recipient of several of those.
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Here's what Sheridan had to say in MB55, and I'll include Lance's @lkeigwin images of the coin too
Ex Gehring Prouty and Keith Davignon. Ex Stack’s June 1977 Connecticut Art Museum Sale, lot 281 as Mint State. A last-minute consignment from Keith Davignon. The coin is breathtaking, featuring a glossy crust of “museum” toning, with halos of golden iridescence. Maybe a little cabinet friction under the toning. Maybe not. Prouty and Davignon found the coin irresistible. You will too.
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“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Here are what I call a "Jekyll & Hyde" toner (dark in hand but turns light-colored under direct lighting) from what I call "the Maginot Line" ('79-'90, tough mintages but easy to "get around"). Does anyone else want to share their weird names for coins or series of coins or have I had too much Sumatran coffee this morning?
Anytime I am researching a coin I throw out the auction results from the purchases I know were made by the "Stephenville" group. I once compiled a list of over 2 dozen Seated coins that have the highest auction price ever paid for that specific coin. In some case multiples of the next nearest sale record. James
@seatedlib3991 said:
Anytime I am researching a coin I throw out the auction results from the purchases I know were made by the "Stephenville" group. I once compiled a list of over 2 dozen Seated coins that have the highest auction price ever paid for that specific coin. In some case multiples of the next nearest sale record. James
I agree. He paid a LOT for a lot of what he bought. Multiples (or big percentages over) highest paid for the grade in some cases. When he put his coins to auction, they sometimes sold for less than they would have before he entered the equation a year and a half before. I know I picked up some pretty good values from his sale.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Okay, since I'm going to be gone for a while, one more for @Barberian and his "named" coins.
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O-112a (112.2), r.4+; ex-Keigwin, Lovely grey dirt, untouched, unspoiled. Attractive dusky golden-grey with touches of russets and greens, unspoiled luster and splendid surfaces. The strike is bold and the obverse crack is quite pronounced.
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As the story goes this was part of a six coin lot that Sheridan bought (or took on consignment) in 2018, which he labeled as the Manheim coins. The following are parts on two notes he sent along over the course of the transaction.
In the first note;
“I purchased the three half dollars in 1975 from the last descendent of the Ensminger family of Manheim. The Ensminger's were prominent business people in Manheim starting circa 1790’s. Samuel A. Ensminger, born 1763, opened an Apothecary Shop in Manheim circa 1793. He and family members, besides being in the drug store business, also were photographers, tinsmiths, surveyors, scriveners, and published The Sun, Manheim’s first newspaper (1841). The person from whom I purchased the coins had a treasure trove of Ensminger heirlooms but almost nothing was sold until she passed away in 1991. Fortunately, for me, I worked with her husband in a local office, and it was only because of this that I was given the opportunity to purchase the half dollars. In 1991, at the public estate auction, there were so many items to be sold - and the sale was so poorly conducted - that local treasures were not recognized and properly represented to bidders, resulting in history and items being lost. Her 1991 estate sale was a disaster. What should have taken three days of selling was sold in one day.”
He followed-up with a second message. I like the last sentence.
“The pictures look great, thanks. I’ll tell you another story. For a few years I lost track of where I placed the 1824 half dollar but I knew that somewhere among my numismatic items it will be found. I only located it about six months ago in a coin box with a superb New Jersey colonial cent and some miscellaneous items. I considered the 1824 slightly less in grade to the superb 1827 and 1831 but I liked the sharp appearance of the die crack and probably separated the coins for further checking. For a lot of years, my collecting interest has been the history connected to items. Whenever I acquired an item, numismatic, antique, or Americana, if there was a story to be preserved, I wanted to record it. To me, history expresses the real value of items."
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“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
@Barberian said:
Here are what I call a "Jekyll & Hyde" toner (dark in hand but turns light-colored under direct lighting) from what I call "the Maginot Line" ('79-'90, tough mintages but easy to "get around"). Does anyone else want to share their weird names for coins or series of coins or have I had too much Sumatran coffee this morning?
Nice tough date!
I like to think about odd things like this. I'll get back to you!
oops ... back already!
I have a PCGS registry set of Liberty $5, but it only had 4 coins in it. After a year, PCGS hid it due to low population and lack of updates. They are all very scarce or rare, so I don't get them too often. It's called "The home for Evasive Ladies." No misogyny meant, just silliness. It would be up to 5 coins now. I guess time to republish it.
I heard the phrase for "The Maginot Line" in an audio book. It sounded like "The Marginal Line" perhaps not too far off in meaning.
Comments
It's fun to collect that way. Seated half dollars were fun to collect at the start because there are so many relatively common dates that one could just look for a nice example raw on eBay and not worry about duplicating purchases. I ended up bagging duplicates that I liked, anyway. As I acquired more coins, the search for a particular so-called common date has become more difficult. I was amazed that it took several months to find a 56-O that I liked, and it was raw instead of a graded coin.
@Barberian. So true. At first Seated Halves appear to be almost like Morgan dollars. They are large silver coins and, at least for this collector, it always seems there are more Halves up for sale at any given time than all the other denominations combined.
Then you start looking for attractive coins. You start searching for what is suppose to be a common date, which it is, but there is a sea of ugly coins; scratched coins, corroded coins, coins that have been dipped to death etc. Thats just the coins IN straight graded slabs.
Two years later you find you still haven't found this "common date". Unfortunately, lately it seems too many people have also discovered this fact. James
The search I enjoy very much. Having collected Latin American coins I am am more than use to it. Sometimes it would take years and years to find a date in any condition. So that part does not bother me at all.
Member here for 5 years
The grades for these stumpers...
VG10
F15
VG10 for the 59-S?? I had to look up the cert number to see if this was a typo. Apparently not! Will someone please explain to me why this coin is not at least vf25?
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Halloween theme!
Happy Saturday everyone!
Happy Saturday everyone! Love a good Saturday with Fall colors!
Saturday morning and I'll be off and away for a while today.
Hopefully back around noon to update my silly Broken thread with the '27/6.
This one goes back to the ANA this summer. I missed some of the strongest coins that came out of that show, and had to pay up for a couple that got flipped from one dealer to another before I caught them (including this one). I am still pleased to pick this one up from Phil at Eye Appealing for the Die Marriage set.
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1822 O-113 (113.1) P55cac
Hard satin luster grace nearly mark-free surfaces and a strong strike with soft russet grey-blue toning and just a few whispy hairlines.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Very nice @pursuitofliberty Your favorite date Let's go Seattle (since the Brewers could not compete with the payroll heavy Dodgers).
   Let's go Seattle (since the Brewers could not compete with the payroll heavy Dodgers).
The fun part of starting a new project is searching and locating great coins to begin the journey. I have been very lucky the last two weeks or so. Several more on the way but here is the start.
Happy Saturday everyone. Peloton, done. Coffee, almost done. Heading out to be with family, priceless.

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Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
I just picked up this recent win from the fine folks at Heritage at USMex show. It is the sixth known chopmarked 59-S and (I believe) the 12th known chopmarked SLD of any date.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
That's a stunning Morgan dollar! I love when the leaves turn blue-green in the fall!
. . . . .
I finally filled the 1875-S slot for my collection this morning before I even grabbed a cup of coffee. The seller accepted my offer while I was asleep and I wasn't notified. I thought it had been sold out from under me when I checked eBay two hours ago. I looked at "sold" coins in the eBay archive, hit on the coin, and surprisingly found out that I actually won it and apparently, they had already tapped into my PayPal account. First time that's happened. The coffee tastes great today!
1875-S WB-19 VG8

The plate coin for WB-19 on PCGS (another surprise)
USN & USAF retired 1971-1993
Successful Transactions with more than 100 Members
Good to see @Inspired70 back! Happy Sat Gents!
Woah! (coffee sprayed onto computer screen)
That is a fantastic coin! @Eldorado9 crushes it again!
@Eldorado9 . Was that coin handed down from one mint director to the next over all these years? James
@pursuitofliberty love that 22.
Finally got back a little trinket from PCGS that I submitted at ANA. This 17-105.7 was Henry hilgard’s and then our very own @habaraca phil Soditch’s. Remained raw its entire life until this summer. Just a VF 25. Likely a higher grade but the die was basically falling apart at this point.
BHNC #248 … 140 and counting.
Good Morning Everyone! Happy Saturday.... I'm watching the ending of the Baltimore City Running Festival and spending a little time with some copper.
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
I picked this up on a whim years ago. At first, I thought “Why?!?!”
Now, I love it and am now inspired to build a CC chopmark collection.
@seatedlib3991 and @Barberian Thanks Guys! I am thrilled to own this half, and it's a piece I treasure. She is deserving of the accolades! From the Eugene Gardner Heritage sale in 2014, but prior to that the provenance is murky.
Gardner had this to say about it: A spectacular, absolutely flawless coin with wonderful eye appeal. I doubt there are any out there that are the equal of this coin. From a 2002 Heritage auction where the cataloguers termed it "certainly among the finest extant No Motto Seated half dollars of any date."
Nice coin! A fantastic pursuit, if I do say so myself.
I don't know how much you have looked into the various populations. It is not an easy set to complete, although immensely rewarding.
If you are near the Winter Baltimore Whitman show, most of the top chopmarked trade dollar collectors will be having a get together on Thursday 11/6 at the show.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Interesting idea but I'm in the Pacific Northwest. It'll be an expedition to get out there.
Hmmmm I haven't been to a nice coin show in a while though......
Happy Saturday - You guys are posting some really gorgeous coins - WOW!

Have a great weekend all and drink your coffee.......
Ha - I also just recently got a cc chopmarked (75) on a bit of a whim; and from the PNW (the "WA" in my handle). Small world.
TTT.
It's not Saturday morning, but so what.
This Tuesday evening I am playing with these coins (shockingly not a Cameo proof to be found!!!).
The coins range from about 450BC to 1956 and were minted in ancient Greece, Saxony in Germany, Austrailia and the USA mints of Philly and San Francisco.
The grades of the slabbed coins are G4, EF40, AU50, MS63, MS64, MS64, MS65plus, and PF67plus.
They are copper and silver.
The2/3 Thaler is a Top Pop.
The Peace Dollar is a toned lusterbomb.
The Morgan Dollar was obtained by my parents from a bank in 1962 and given to me. It has been with me for 63 years now.
The capped bust half has been with me for about 47 years.
An enjoyable hobby evening.
Good morning to all. Temps have dropped. Done with 90 minutes on the Peloton. Done with coffee, and time to play with some of the new "old holders" that have arrived. My first Doily and it looks nice. Also my first scarce Gen 2.2 holders. Added another CAC Ratt Commem to the set as well.
Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
Trouble loading photos.


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Successful BST with drddm, BustDMs, Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
Some early gold on a crisp Saturday morning. This is always my favorite thread on the board.
Saturday morning, dark and quiet
Coffee fresh and bold
Coins to examine
Before the day unfolds
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Good morning Coins and Coffee Club!
Nice images (and coins) Tom! @pcgscacgold
Oh my Darrell @Inspired70 Wow! How can I even follow that?!!
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If you don’t see me post for a while it is because I am out of the country, living a different kind of dream.
Hopefully I will come home with some fantastic nature images, stories of awesome fishing, hiking and kayaking, and maybe even a few pounds lighter, with some more color (it's Spring there), and with a few more crinkles to show for it.
.
Here’s one from the recent submission I do not think I have shown. I would share a free hand of her, but she’s packed away in a box for a vacation in New Jersey with some of her Sisters while I'm off on the other side of the world.
.

“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
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Sounds like a trip to New Zealand. Have fun wherever you're going.
Good morning my Saturday morning coins and coffee folks -

Today, I am not playing tennis this AM so I already had 2 cups of coffee.
For my second cup of coffee, I was looking for something fun to post. So I thought of this -
I found in the basement, my oldest collection that I still own. Here is a BU set of Lincolns that I completed in 1974 never knew that I owned until a few weeks ago. Ain't worth much today but who cares. I still have it and still collecting. How cool is that!
So a thought, show off your oldest coin from your collection (Not mintage date but length of time that you owned it - I owned this for about 51 years!
Wow @pursuitofliberty! Love that 1830! Such originality.
Just love the coins being posted on this thread each week. Each coin is a treasurer to view! My favorite thread.......
@pursuitofliberty - I love the 1821 half from the June 1977 Stacks auction. Did you get the coin at that auction. I attended that auction and still have my coins that I won from waaaaay back then!.
So many great coins on this thread. This group is the "A" Team on the Forum. Happy Saturday Gents...Have a solid gold day!
Flea market find of the day. A box of boxes for $55. IYKYK.
Hey @Eldorado9 - I clicked the "like" button but wanted the "LOVE" button!
Back at ya, that 1830 dime has to be one of finest I've laid eyes on!
Some common date chopped trade dollars back in new plastic:
And a new coin for my non-chopped Dansco album that just came out of the plastic (Broken Arrows variety):
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
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I absolutely agree with you on the coins that get posted here, and this being my favorite, "must see" thread every week @EastonCollection
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Regarding your question about the 1977 Stacks Auction ... haha! ... Nope, I wasn't quite into Numismatics like I am now back then. In fact, in June of 1977 I was just shy of 13 years old, and I think chasing girls, playing guitar, and swimming and diving were the bulk of my passions!
I actually picked that one up out of the very unusual Stephenville auction at Heritage in the Fall of 2023. It sold at Sheridan's MB55 auction earlier that year. Not exactly sure if Gehring Prouty bought it from the 1977 Auction, but I think that is the case. Either that or he bought it shortly thereafter.
In reference to the MB55 Sale, the consignor of the Stephenville Sale bid very strong money and won more than a few coins from that Auction ... as he had done with other auctions over the previous year. It was amazing to many of us who recognized the coins in the sale that he would sell them all so quickly after acquisition ... in this case a scant 9 months after the MB55 sale.
But alas, I was the lucky recipient of several of those.
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Here's what Sheridan had to say in MB55, and I'll include Lance's @lkeigwin images of the coin too
Ex Gehring Prouty and Keith Davignon. Ex Stack’s June 1977 Connecticut Art Museum Sale, lot 281 as Mint State. A last-minute consignment from Keith Davignon. The coin is breathtaking, featuring a glossy crust of “museum” toning, with halos of golden iridescence. Maybe a little cabinet friction under the toning. Maybe not. Prouty and Davignon found the coin irresistible. You will too.
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“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Here are what I call a "Jekyll & Hyde" toner (dark in hand but turns light-colored under direct lighting) from what I call "the Maginot Line" ('79-'90, tough mintages but easy to "get around"). Does anyone else want to share their weird names for coins or series of coins or have I had too much Sumatran coffee this morning?
Anytime I am researching a coin I throw out the auction results from the purchases I know were made by the "Stephenville" group. I once compiled a list of over 2 dozen Seated coins that have the highest auction price ever paid for that specific coin. In some case multiples of the next nearest sale record. James
Good morning Everyone... trying to find a good home for these.
Ugh! Uncle!! Can't upload pics... :-/
Try this...

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I agree. He paid a LOT for a lot of what he bought. Multiples (or big percentages over) highest paid for the grade in some cases. When he put his coins to auction, they sometimes sold for less than they would have before he entered the equation a year and a half before. I know I picked up some pretty good values from his sale.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Okay, since I'm going to be gone for a while, one more for @Barberian and his "named" coins.
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O-112a (112.2), r.4+; ex-Keigwin, Lovely grey dirt, untouched, unspoiled. Attractive dusky golden-grey with touches of russets and greens, unspoiled luster and splendid surfaces. The strike is bold and the obverse crack is quite pronounced.
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As the story goes this was part of a six coin lot that Sheridan bought (or took on consignment) in 2018, which he labeled as the Manheim coins. The following are parts on two notes he sent along over the course of the transaction.
In the first note;
“I purchased the three half dollars in 1975 from the last descendent of the Ensminger family of Manheim. The Ensminger's were prominent business people in Manheim starting circa 1790’s. Samuel A. Ensminger, born 1763, opened an Apothecary Shop in Manheim circa 1793. He and family members, besides being in the drug store business, also were photographers, tinsmiths, surveyors, scriveners, and published The Sun, Manheim’s first newspaper (1841). The person from whom I purchased the coins had a treasure trove of Ensminger heirlooms but almost nothing was sold until she passed away in 1991. Fortunately, for me, I worked with her husband in a local office, and it was only because of this that I was given the opportunity to purchase the half dollars. In 1991, at the public estate auction, there were so many items to be sold - and the sale was so poorly conducted - that local treasures were not recognized and properly represented to bidders, resulting in history and items being lost. Her 1991 estate sale was a disaster. What should have taken three days of selling was sold in one day.”
He followed-up with a second message. I like the last sentence.
“The pictures look great, thanks. I’ll tell you another story. For a few years I lost track of where I placed the 1824 half dollar but I knew that somewhere among my numismatic items it will be found. I only located it about six months ago in a coin box with a superb New Jersey colonial cent and some miscellaneous items. I considered the 1824 slightly less in grade to the superb 1827 and 1831 but I liked the sharp appearance of the die crack and probably separated the coins for further checking. For a lot of years, my collecting interest has been the history connected to items. Whenever I acquired an item, numismatic, antique, or Americana, if there was a story to be preserved, I wanted to record it. To me, history expresses the real value of items."
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“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Nice tough date!
I like to think about odd things like this. I'll get back to you!
oops ... back already!
I have a PCGS registry set of Liberty $5, but it only had 4 coins in it. After a year, PCGS hid it due to low population and lack of updates. They are all very scarce or rare, so I don't get them too often. It's called "The home for Evasive Ladies." No misogyny meant, just silliness. It would be up to 5 coins now. I guess time to republish it.
I heard the phrase for "The Maginot Line" in an audio book. It sounded like "The Marginal Line" perhaps not too far off in meaning.
PCGS-66+







