A New Half-Dime For My Collection

JrGMan2004 · June 17, 2004 1:09PM

This is a nice 1832 Capped Bust Half-Dime. I grade it a VF20, but if anyone has a conflicting opinion, I'd like to hear

This is an LM-12, an R-2 coin. I'm working towards collecting all of the R-1, R-2 and R-3 Die Marriages.

But there's a lot of em

This coin brings me up to 3, towards the date set. 33% complete! WOOHOO!

So far, I have an 1831 in ANACS VF30, that will soon be on it's way to PCGS for Cross at any grade, via WACoinguy

Thank you to him. And also an 1834 LM-2 in VF30.

Anyways, below is the new 1832 LM-12 in VF20. Thank you to JadeRareCoin for finding me this pretty coin

coinguy89 · June 17, 2004 1:11PM

Amazing coin, those are the kind I want in my collection. Great find.

stman · June 17, 2004 1:14PM

Pretty? but it's dirty. Some good looking dirt though. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

mgoodm3 · June 17, 2004 1:16PM

Very nice.

JrGMan2004 · June 17, 2004 1:18PM

The dirt gives it character

I'll take a nice circulated grey coin with a little dirty, over a dipped Unc any day...

stman · June 17, 2004 1:21PM

JrGMan2004 · June 17, 2004 1:24PM

Hey stman... I'll take that icon coin of yours

It's gorgeous.

IdahoGal · June 17, 2004 1:26PM

Great coin, George!

JrGMan2004 · June 17, 2004 1:27PM

Thx Traci

CoinAddict · June 17, 2004 1:37PM

Nice coin, George.

astrorat · June 17, 2004 1:47PM

Nice original coin, George. Your grade is close, but I would call it a F-15. There is not enough detail in the hair or on the shield on the reverse to warrant a VF grade. That said, you did just fine if you paid VF money for the coin as the originality adds much to the value of the piece.

One question though . . . why would you bother to slab these coins (i.e. your "crossover of the 1831 ANACS to PCGS)? Are you afraid they are not authentic? I certainly hope it is not just to have them graded as the series is simple to grade through AU and you seem to know your stuff (as evidenced by other posts). The expense (i.e. waste of money) of slabbing could be put to additional coins.

Remember the golden rule of slabbing circulated coins for the purpose of grading . . . you NEVER get your money back. In other words, would you pay $30 more for a bust half dime in VF just because it's slabbed? Didn't think so. So why dump the money into the coin after the purchase? With time and exposure, grading circulated coins is simple. Will you like your coin any less if PCGS gives it a lower grade? Spare the plastic and buy some coins.

Lane

P.S. George, please do not read the above as a criticism of you, as it is not. It is a sincere question as many young collectors I have met waste money on certification fees when they are not necessary. Instead, the money should be spent on education materials and resources, such as books dedicated to the series.

EVillageProwler · June 17, 2004 2:00PM

George,

It is my understanding that you're a collector of relatively limited means. (Aren't we all?) As such, I would recommend against involving yourself with slabbing games (like x-overs, etc.). At least for the time being... I'm saying this because this will help you devote more $$ on coins and less on plastic.

Also, it is my impression that you're quite a budding numismatist. As such, you must never forget about the 3rd side of each coin. Your idol, Russ Logan, hated slabs as it inhibited his study of all 3 sides of a coin. He also cracked out his coins, but that is not what I'm suggesting...

Finally, some collectors believe in the philosophy of acquiring the finest one can afford. You know that collecting is a marathon, not a sprint. Think about how your set of today will be viewed by the George of tomorrow as you balance quantity and quality.

Regards,

EVP

PS Nice coin!

PPS Just read Lane's post. Great minds think alike!

astrorat · June 17, 2004 2:03PM

<< <i>You know that collecting is a marathon, not a sprint. >>

Kudos to you, EVP. These are indeed wise words.

Lane

lordmarcovan · June 17, 2004 2:05PM

I'm with astrorat- I would call it F15. The reverse would probably have almost enough detail to go VF20 with me, but not the obverse. Really, I would grade the obverse F12.

That being said, I like it.

PS- I would certainly agree with astrorat and EVP's advice about "forget the plastic". Maybe if you were playing with UNC's, slabs would be the way to go, but with nice, honest circulated stuff, the "bread-and-butter collector stuff" as I call it, you'd do just as well to skip it.

JrGMan2004 · June 17, 2004 2:13PM

The aforementioned crossover, was free to me, except for the shipping to WACoinguy. I bought the coin already in the slab, and because the oppurtunity was there for it to cost me nothing, I took it. Now as for the rest of my coins, they are residing in 2x2s. Though, I'm thinking about getting CoinWorld slabs or something similar to hold the coins in. Something a little safer. BTW, I do have Logan and McCloskey's Federal Half-Dimes book.

Only other book I can think to get on the series, would be the Valentine book, but it is old and very outdated, and nothing new that's not covered in the Logan/McCloskey book.

Oh yeah, and my cost on the coin was $59 plus $3 to ship and thx to Dennis for letting me pay in installments.

Helps me out a lot

EVillageProwler · June 17, 2004 2:15PM

Get the B&M catalog of the Logan Sale. That has a tremendous amount of current numismatic info!

JrGMan2004 · June 17, 2004 2:16PM

Got that one too EVP

boiler sent me the catalog of the Logan sale.

Varlis · June 17, 2004 3:08PM

Nice coin with a great look. If you're working your way through the whole series, why not get a Dansco (I'm assuming they make an album for these)--I'm doing a set of bust quarters in this range and a little better, and they look great in the Dansco.

CarlWohlforth · June 17, 2004 11:29PM

Nice coin! I like the look.

astrorat · June 18, 2004 12:45AM

<< <i>Nice coin with a great look. If you're working your way through the whole series, why not get a Dansco (I'm assuming they make an album for these)--I'm doing a set of bust quarters in this range and a little better, and they look great in the Dansco. >>

Dansco albums are nice, but nothing beats a Wayte Raymond or Whitman Bookshelf for classic coins . . .

Lane

Numismanic · June 18, 2004 12:57AM

coinguy89 · June 18, 2004 3:40AM

You guys probably dont know this but I also am attempting a collcetion of capped half-dimes, just like George, in addition to my collection of rosies. I plan on getting F-12 kind of material, and not getting anything graded, because im already getting the rosies slabbed. This is perfect for me, cause its not very often you find a coins like this, especially since Im only allowed to go to coin shows, Ive got only one so far, 1834. It will take many years to accomplish, so its perfect, it will also teach me how to grade better, rather than rely on slabs to do it for me. You really get to hunt for this collection. After getting all the dates, and main varieties, I will work on the die marriges like George is doing. I still am gonna need that book, but not for alittle bit yet.

JrGMan2004 · June 18, 2004 5:01AM

<< <i>Nice coin with a great look. If you're working your way through the whole series, why not get a Dansco (I'm assuming they make an album for these)--I'm doing a set of bust quarters in this range and a little better, and they look great in the Dansco. >>

I looked into a Dansco album, but they run the whole length of the Half-Dime life span. From Flowing Hair to Seated Lib. As much as I'd like to collect Flowing Hair and Draped Busts, I do not have the money. And Seated Lib coins rarely catch my interest. One reason I was considering the Coin World Slabs, is because I could print my own labels, and include the LM Numbers and Rarity on the slab.

Good luck coinman89 on your set. And there's another collector of these coins out there on the forums, Jamericon.

Maybe we should form out own club here on the forums

Thanks for all the comments everyone. I also have made a few observations, particularly some thoughts as to why you guys think it might be an F15 or F12. I'll be back in just a minute with that.

JrGMan2004 · June 18, 2004 5:05AM

An observation of the coin. It looks almost like the planchet may have been a little slanted when struck, or the dies perhaps. And maybe a little misaligned to. I noticed that around the top of the Obverse the rim is a little thinner and the dentils are weak, while down around the bottom, the rim is thinker, taller and more defined. The dentils are also clearer. And also, the wear is a little uneven. Stars 1-9 are pretty worn, while they get progressively sharper as you travel from S10-S13. And also on the bust. The wear gets less as you head towards the drapery. I would expect more wear at the drapery for how much wear shows on the cap and face. It's not as easy to spot that on the Reverse though, except for with the rims and dentils. And also, the top portion of the shield seems more worn than the leading edge of the wings. Like as in, I think that there should be more wear on the leading edge of the wings for how much wear is shown on the top portion of the shield.

Just some things here make me think it may have been a weaker strike, and a little bit of uneven wear, causing maybe some of you to call it a Fine.

puff · June 18, 2004 5:40AM

Nice coin George congrats!

coinguy89 · June 18, 2004 6:04AM

Nice icon change George.

Dollars · June 18, 2004 6:18AM

Nice coin George.

Dennis did ya well. I think I'm going to the coin shop tomorrow and picking up some F to VF bust halves. Thanks for the boost

Nysoto · June 18, 2004 7:09AM

Nice coin George, you have a great set of truly scarce early US coins started. I agree with the grade of VF20, you have to consider the variety when grading these, as every die marriage wears differently and die state also affects wear patterns. Rittenhouse (Craig Sholley) explained in his video that uneven strikes can be caused by improper shimming of the dies in an effort to get the dies parallel to one another at the strike.
This is very evident on 1806 O.111 half where the right side is weak, and the same obverse die on O.112 has a weak left side.

Take a look at the current ANR auction of Flowing Hair half dimes on their website, someday you will collect coins like these.

Edited to add: Just looked at the Logan 1832 LM12, an AU 50 coin with weak centers, including the shield. You have a nice VF20, close to VF25.

JrGMan2004 · June 18, 2004 8:07AM

Thx Nysoto.

And I must say, your Icon coin is gorgeous!!!!

ldhair · June 18, 2004 9:26AM

May I ask the date of the B&M catalog of the Logan Sale?

Thanks.

JrGMan2004 · June 18, 2004 9:51AM

<< <i>May I ask the date of the B&M catalog of the Logan Sale?

Thanks. >>

November 6-9, 2002 in Baltimore by Bowers and Merena

ldhair · June 18, 2004 10:45AM

Thanks again

JrGMan2004 · June 18, 2004 10:47AM

Welcome Larry.

A New Half-Dime For My Collection

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