1851 gold dollar... "C" mintmark, or "O"? (2010 update w/different pics)

That's a very neat one, LordM. I think all you need to do is examine old auction pics of those dates and pick up on any die characteristics. What did it set you back?

Was it a local purchase or a online purchase?

It might help anyway Carl! Neat coin, LordM and a very nice addition, as ricko said.

neat coin... LOTS of history... L

I agree - looks like a C - Congrats!

I'd like to see a closeup image of the mintmark, but at the moment (and after consulting DW's New Orleans and Charlotte books), I'm leaning towards a 'C'.

I don't claim to know anything about the series, but by the photos provided...I think the mint mark size looks close to the "O"

<<<I wonder if the people saying the mintmark looks bigger than the C realize its a bigger picture?>>>

The ratio remains the same if you use the "O" mm to the "O" bow and the "C" mm to the "C" bow.

I'm getting seasick.

who knows. The lettering seems too strong for the Charlotte mint coins, which usually were struck from a relapped die. But, of course not ALL were relapped, so it could be a C.

I also think you have a C, that being said with no knowledge of the series.

Definitely a "C". You can clearly see the end points of the C that have been pushed inward because of the hole.

I suggest drilling the hole a bit larger and calling it a Philly coin...that would end the speculation

Lord M, when you really really look at this close see if you can see the trace of a die crack above OF AM(erica). That is a surefire diagnostic for a Charlotte mint 51. May be too worn to see that though.

Simple Math and English tells me there is 1 lower case o and 1 upper case O. The second o goes all the way through. Hence: an 1851 oh oh

ugh maybe its time to concentrate away from the MM and look at the denticles. Charlotte had a horrible time making them look good, while New Orleans always had them perfect.

The OP coin looks like they are NOT that good. Tilts the scale to C

Animated pics to add to the confusion. I admit, I may have sized the pics incorrectly, it wouldn't take much of a resizing error to make it look like the other mint mark.





bob

OK. Im gonna CALL IT.

go back to Nicetonings set of three images on page 2 of this thread.

Look at the distance between the bottom star and the bottom of the portrait bust on the obverse. Based on the fact that Charlotte did not usually finish dies fully before use, and that New Orleans did. The Philadelphia mint struck the dies very fully, before shipment, and that controls how deep the hub had impressed the stars, letters and features into the die. These features were tapered larger, by Longacre, wider to the surface of the die, so they were closer together. The C mint had wider features than the New Orleans mint coin.

We note that the bottom star and the bottom of the portrait bust are much closer together on both the holed coin and the example 51C. See also how much distance there is from the star to the bottom of the bust on the New Orleans coin? It is greater because that die is finished down, ground down, prior to use.

To add, from Doug Winters "Gold Coins of the Charlotte Mint" page 51 "...weakness is seen on TES in STATES and the border on the right". This is seen on the OP's coin, obvious despite the wear. The denticles are nearly gone on the right border on the reverse.

so................Im calling the OP coin a Charlotte Mint.

<<<Take a look at the stars on the obverse.
To me it is an obvious 'C' coin. >>>

I noticed that too, but the size of the mm persuaded me that it is an "O" mm. But, all said and done, I hope it's a "C" for LordM's collection.