1814- The latest in the ongoing Bust Half series
slumlord98
Posts: 1,180 ✭
1814 was a pivotal year for the fledgling nation. Our involvement in the western front of the Napoleonic Wars was in its final full year. We had been woefully unprepared to fight a war, but the new generation of congressional leaders had pulled us in. William Henry Harrison had nearly bankrupted the country with his inept prosecution of the war in the west. Winfield Scott rose to prominence by leading successful campaings in Canada. However, most prominent was our navy, which fought with some success on the Great Lakes, and in the Atlantic. According to Henry Adams, the most successful fighting force was privateers, privately owned ships sanctioned to fight commercial shipping of Great Britain. These privateers were so successful that they forced an early end to the war by crippling the British economy. This was accomplished by very light fast sailing ships that overtook ships of the British merchant fleet and either captured them, or sunk them. Since Britain was primarily dependent on imported raw materials to keep its industrial base active, and then exported the finished products, these privateers were responsible for curtailing economic activity, and also the public's appetite for the war.
Washington was invaded in 1814, and government buildings were sacked and burned. The British army then re-boarded its ships and headed to Baltimore to repeat the indignity. However, Baltimore was as prepared, and after a night of shelling, the British left, fearing they would be unable to successfully invade. The Treaty of Ghent was negotiated late in the year, essentially restoring the status quo, but was not presented and ratified until the following year, after the Battle of New Orleans was successfully prosecuted by Andrew Jackson.
There are some interesting aspects to the half dollars of 1814. Most coins minted this year show extensive die cracks and clash marks, thought to be caused by a repeatedly jamming feeder mechanism. If no planchet was present, the dies would come together and leave an imprint of each side on the other. While beginners often find this fascinating, advanced collectors look for the much scarcer prime die states, with no cracks or clashes. These coins are scarce to rare, and sometimes bring extraordinary premiums.
The first coin pictured is an 1814/3, O.101. It has no cracks or clash marks, and still is prooflike, with deep mirrors between the spaces in the shield and legend, and around the stars on the obverse, despite its modest grade. In this early die state, the overdate is most prominent.
This is a slightly later die state, still unclashed, but with a die crack circling around from star 9, across the cap, and thru all stars on the left. Also, something fell onto the anvil die, and the dies came together, leaving lumps on opposite sides of the coin, at star 12 and below E in AMERICA.
Also note the poorly positioned dentils at K12, as well as the raised lines under TES. I have no idea what might have caused these.
More later.
Washington was invaded in 1814, and government buildings were sacked and burned. The British army then re-boarded its ships and headed to Baltimore to repeat the indignity. However, Baltimore was as prepared, and after a night of shelling, the British left, fearing they would be unable to successfully invade. The Treaty of Ghent was negotiated late in the year, essentially restoring the status quo, but was not presented and ratified until the following year, after the Battle of New Orleans was successfully prosecuted by Andrew Jackson.
There are some interesting aspects to the half dollars of 1814. Most coins minted this year show extensive die cracks and clash marks, thought to be caused by a repeatedly jamming feeder mechanism. If no planchet was present, the dies would come together and leave an imprint of each side on the other. While beginners often find this fascinating, advanced collectors look for the much scarcer prime die states, with no cracks or clashes. These coins are scarce to rare, and sometimes bring extraordinary premiums.
The first coin pictured is an 1814/3, O.101. It has no cracks or clash marks, and still is prooflike, with deep mirrors between the spaces in the shield and legend, and around the stars on the obverse, despite its modest grade. In this early die state, the overdate is most prominent.
This is a slightly later die state, still unclashed, but with a die crack circling around from star 9, across the cap, and thru all stars on the left. Also, something fell onto the anvil die, and the dies came together, leaving lumps on opposite sides of the coin, at star 12 and below E in AMERICA.
Also note the poorly positioned dentils at K12, as well as the raised lines under TES. I have no idea what might have caused these.
More later.
0
Comments
Is the LDS from the Mohawk Valley hoard?
Thanks for starting this thread. Notice that everyone waited until you were able to start it, rather than jump in for you. You have such a good reputation on CU that we all wanted to see what you had to say about 1814 CBH.
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This is my earliest DS for the overdate.
Some diagnostics for 1814/3 O-101a EDS R2:
Obverse: Star 1 points to lower edge of dentil. “4” cut over “3”. The O-101 prime, without ANY obverse die cracks, is now R6. Normally this overdate shows a crack from edge opposite end of bust, through stars 1-6, across cap, and through all stars on the right. The coin pictured here lies between the prime and a-DS, because it has no crack under the date, and there is no clashing on this coin.
Reverse: Dentils above second “T” in “STATES” are too large, almost touching the “T”. The dentil at the left is attached to the “T” by a die defect line. “I” centered under right side of “T”.
<< <i>Is the LDS from the Mohawk Valley hoard? >>
Yep. More on the hoard when I image some O.107s.
<< <i>Is the LDS from the Mohawk Valley hoard? >>
I thought the same thing when I saw that gouge in the top, obverse.
<< <i>The large line on the reverse... ...and was caused by whoknows what. >>
Is it raised or incuse?
I never saw a 1814/3 prime before - rare coin!
Link to images of prooflike O.107
Another interesting feature of 107 is that it is almost never seen properly centered. Further, this centering issue is relevant to die state in that 107s of the same die state tend to be off center in the same direction. Also, a number of 107s were made from contaminated metal, and have a badly streaked appearance. If you had enough of these streaked 107s together, you could tell which were cut from the same strip of silver!
Next are images of a slightly later 107, struck from lightly clashed dies, but still displaying the serif extensions on 1 and 4.
Curiously, 107a, as described in Overton, is an early die state where a light crack developed between the 8 and 1 and was struck after the P/L coin, yet before this example. 107a is struck from unclashed dies, but has a die chip in N on the reverse. A more detailed description was given, along with an image, in Overton's 1st edition, as O.13. When Parsley compiled material for the 3rd edition, he must have assumed that 107a was a late state coin, and he provided a generic description of such. But if 107a was a late state coin, then the crack would be evident on this terminal state coin. Note the chip above the nose and another chip under the serif of 1. I found this corroded pig in a Teletrade sale years ago. The die crack described in 107a was lapped off after only a few were struck. The only example I am aware of was part of the Overton collection, and was sold off anonymously by Sheridan Downey when Don consigned several large boxes of dupes to be sold at the 1991 ANA convention here in Chicago. The whereabouts of this coin are not known. Edited to add-the nose chip formed after several platinum examples of 107 were struck. These platinum coins have many P counterstamps on them. Mr. Eureka bought Russ Logan's platinum example, beating out the late Charlton Meyer in a fierec bidding war.
<< <i>Is it raised or incuse? >>
Raised.
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
The Whisker Cheek Collection - Top 50 Peace VAM Registry
Landmark Buffalo Collection
<< <i>
<< <i>Is it raised or incuse? >>
Raised. >>
Die gouge? How can you tell that it's not a crack?
Nice 105! Very well struck!
Some sort of gouge, and pretty deep. If it was a crack, the die would have fallen apart.
<< <i>Die gouge? How can you tell that it's not a crack? [/IMG]
Some sort of gouge, and pretty deep. If it was a crack, the die would have fallen apart. >>
Would it though? It's only in the middle of the coin and isn't conected. For the die to fall to piece wouldn't it have to either bisect the coin or connect somehow (either to itself or the edge in 2 locations)?
Here is a much later die state of the overdate 101, notice the clashing...
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
R-1
Obv: Die crack from star 3 to end of nose. A die crack from 18 crosses end of bust to inner points of stars 1 and 2. A die crack from second 1 through 4 to curl.
Rev: Die crack through lower half of U across tip of wing, olive leaves and arrows. A die crack from base of U under NI to base of T then through ED and to the top of ST. A die crack above last S in STATES across A to edge above M.
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
Some diagnostics for 1814/3 O-101a R2:
Obverse: Star 1 points to lower edge of dentil. “4” cut over “3”. The O-101 prime, without ANY obverse die cracks, is now R6. Normally this overdate shows a crack from edge opposite end of bust, through stars 1-6, across cap, and through all stars on the right. The coin pictured here has the die crack under the date, and exhibits extreme clashing.
Reverse: Dentils above second “T” in “STATES” are too large, almost touching the “T”. The dentil at the left is attached to the “T” by a die defect line. “I” centered under right side of “T”. The coin pictured exhibits extreme clashing.
Some diagnostics for 1814 O-102 R2:
Obverse: Star 1 points to upper half of dentil. Many criss-crossing die lines arranged irregularly around the curl above the clasp. Second “1” in date is low. Milling is usually narrow and incomplete.
Reverse: There is a triangular die mark off of stripe 1 near top, at left. Usually letters of “LIBERTY” are clashed below right wing, and in shield stripe area. “I” centered under left side of “T”.
>>>>>>>1814 O-109 - Easy to attribute as the the WIDEST DATE of the 1814's<<<<<<<
CLEANED WITH XF DETAILS BUT WITH THE NEAT DOUBLE PROFILE WHO CARES?
This is the third and last use of the obverse die 5---now named 5-s3 for its later stage of die wear.
In this die marriage the mouth is clearly open and the forecurl is away from the headband. The bars are obvious below the ear and there are multiple letters clashed under the bust.
On this late die state of the O-106 die marriage the reverse die has begun to shatter. Multiple die cracks can clearly be seen on the reverse.
Hey guys, any more 14's out there.
Ed and Mozin sure look like they are carrying these threads, but it also looks like they both qualify for a couple of real serious CBH guys
Got any more????
I can't be satisfied till I see every CBH possible...
I decided to show you a "very special" example of an 1814 O-108 E/A.
First an explaination: For my collection I prefer all of my R4 and below coins to be in AU-50 to AU-58 grades. I make the exception when I see a die state that does not come along too often.
An example of an exception is my VEDS 1814 O-108 E/A.
The Overton/Parsley books decribes the die crack diagnostics of the Early Die State O-108.
On the obverse (the book states): "Most specimens..." and it goes on to describe two different die cracks.
Again, on the reverse (the book states): "Most specimens..." and it goes on to describe one long, extensive die crack and another short one.
The book also states that on the reverse the upper part of the N is partly filled.
No mention is made in the BHNC published Overton book Errata (available 24/7 on the Internet for all to see, for free---no membership required, by-the-way) of the "rarity" or scarcity of this die marriage WITHOUT the die cracks.
When I saw my coin, I couldn't resist it. It has NO DIE CRACKS anywhere. ...but it does have the partly filled N.
Because my coin has the filled N, I am going to assume (it is sometimes correct to assume) that my coin is NOT what is considered as the O-108 "Prime."
...but if nothing else, it is the Very Early Die State (VEDS) of this example.
If anyone can share more information on the "Prime" and/or the LEDS of this die marriage, I would appreciate it.
Photos of my VEDS 1814 O-108 E/A, R2:
It needs to have a full eagle's head in order to qualify as a VEDS. Even in EF. I once owned two, one of which was auctioned by Downey a couple years ago (don't know who bought it) and another that is now in South America. They are very rare with a full eagle's head. If I find images, I'll send them along.
Where have you been?
Regards
Ed R.
Here's a "crusty" 1814, O-105 . . . before the reverse die was lapped to singleleaf status. I like'em crusty!
Edgar
I heard that you like darker toned Busties. This is a nice chewy one.
Edgar
<< <i>Rotated Rainbows showed his beautiful example of the heavily clashed 1814 O-108a E/A, R1 die marriage earlier in this Thread.
I decided to show you a "very special" example of an 1814 O-108 E/A.
First an explaination: For my collection I prefer all of my R4 and below coins to be in AU-50 to AU-58 grades. I make the exception when I see a die state that does not come along too often.
An example of an exception is my VEDS 1814 O-108 E/A.
The Overton/Parsley books decribes the die crack diagnostics of the Early Die State O-108.
On the obverse (the book states): "Most specimens..." and it goes on to describe two different die cracks.
Again, on the reverse (the book states): "Most specimens..." and it goes on to describe one long, extensive die crack and another short one.
The book also states that on the reverse the upper part of the N is partly filled.
No mention is made in the BHNC published Overton book Errata (available 24/7 on the Internet for all to see, for free---no membership required, by-the-way) of the "rarity" or scarcity of this die marriage WITHOUT the die cracks.
When I saw my coin, I couldn't resist it. It has NO DIE CRACKS anywhere. ...but it does have the partly filled N.
Because my coin has the filled N, I am going to assume (it is sometimes correct to assume) that my coin is NOT what is considered as the O-108 "Prime."
...but if nothing else, it is the Very Early Die State (VEDS) of this example.
If anyone can share more information on the "Prime" and/or the LEDS of this die marriage, I would appreciate it.
Photos of my VEDS 1814 O-108 E/A, R2:
My contribution to the E/A variety
Looks like I may have made a mistake and given you the early die state. I have to stop trading/passing on coins when you are around. I think I am 0 for 3 with you. At least the coins are going to a nice set.
Same as the O-102 with (but not all inclusive) the coarse straight lines on the neck caused by some mint employee trying to remove rust spots on the die with by using a wire brush, and with heavy clashing of the word or parts of the word LIBERTY below the right wing and between the stripes of the shield.
The O-102a's dies are worn and in bad shape. On the obverse die the milling is almost gone and the stars are drawn to the edge. On the reverse die there is a sinking spot resulting in a smooth area on part of the lower left wing.
Photos of my 1814 O-102a, R3:
Some diagnostics for Single Leaf 1814 O-105a R4:
Obverse: Star 1 points to center of dentil. On this LDS the three heavily clashed bars below the ear are still present. 8 is broad, and second 1 is low. (Obverse shared with O-106.)
Reverse: On this LDS, the uppermost pair of leaves now only shows as one leaf. The upper berry appears to have no stem. The olive stem, edge of tail feathers, and claws are lighter than normal. Left side of E is centered under D. Left side of I under right side of T.
Note: This marriage earlier die state is only R2.
The EDS of this die state without any sign of die cracks is very scarce.
On my O-104 there is a hint of a die crack coming off the center of the upper point of star 3 leading into the field about 3mm. There are no other signs of the die cracks as found on the "slightly uncommon" O-104a, R2. I have included photos of my O-104a for a comparison of the die crack locations.
Also on my O-104 there are several die lines (die lines, not die cracks) between the end of the bust and the milling, between stars 1 & 2 and the milling and one between star 1 and the bust. These are---in appearance---much like the die lines found between the bust and the milling on the 1827 O-120's and O-149's. They are sharp and distinct, but cannot be seen in my photo.
These die lines are absent on my O-104a except for the one between star 1 and the bust---going from the bust to the center of star 1. (On my O-104a there are two [?] die cracks and/or a crack and a die line: (a) the one from the bust to the center of star 1 and (b) the one going from the fold in the bust to the tips of the inner points of star 1). Perhaps the rest of these "die lines" were lapped away before the O-104a's were struck.
Photos of my 1814 O-104, R4:
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Photos of my 1814 O-104a, R2:
Nothing special, but I like the well struck left wing.
Joe G.
Great BST purchases completed with commoncents123, p8nt, blu62vette and Stuart. Great coin swaps completed with rah1959, eyoung429 and Zug. Top-notch consignment experience with Russ.
You last post is an 1814 O-109, R2
Ed
zap
102 capped bust half dollars - 100 die marriages
BHNC #198