This coin is being offered to me as an 1830 Large Lettter variety. Since I do not have much experience with Bust Half Dollars I am seeking opinions on the validity of this attribution. Through my research I have learned that the 1830 LL varity was made with an 1830 obverse die paired with the reverse from 1828. Honestly I have a difficult time picking out the differences between the standard variety and the large letter version. I have attached photos of the coin in question and I am intersted in the thoughts and opinions of those more familiar with Bust Halves.
cfdmike, I am not great at attributing Bust Halves but I am nearly 100% certain that the coin in question is not a "Large Letter" Variety! This Variety is very rare and expensive and I have only seen a couple, one that Larry Briggs with SEGS had in his' showcase at the Chattanooga Coin Show and the other one which had been submitted to him for certification and grading. If my memory serves me correctly, AMERICA and especially the first "A" is much larger than the letters in "UNITED STATES OF". Also, there is a very noticeable difference (being larger) in the size of "50C" on the "Large Letter" Variety and the opening of the "C" is extremely large. Many Coin Collectors and Dealers alike, mis-attribute this rare Variety and think it should be exactly like the 1832 "Large Letter" Variety Half Dollar in which the Letters "U" in UNITED virtually touches the Eagle's wing and the last "A" in AMERICA touches the Arrow Head. Frank
cfdmike: If you are referring to the O-114, R-5, then no it is not. If you compare the positioning of the P of "Pluribus" with the S of "States" you will see that the O-114 has the P positioned more to the right. As far as which Overton # it is, I cannot tell from the pictures, perhaps Ben can do a better job.
No Large Letter Thanks for the input , I also do not believe it is a large letter variety. I did not want to state my opinion first for fear of tainting the opinions of others. I think the seller is making an honest mistake with this coin and not trying to be dishonest. I'm going to see him tomorrow, I wonder how he will take the news?
I thought I'd resurrect this thread because we recently had a guy on eBay selling an 1830 small letters as the very rare Large Letters. I just got one today, so everyone can learn what to look for in this tremendous rarity. Look at how much higher the E in STATES is than the other letters, as well as how close together the letters are crammed. Anyway, here it is. PCGS gave mine a details cleaning grade (pretty harsh IMO).
