1854-O W/ Arrows CH. VF. DIE CRACK? UNLISTED!!! PLEASE HELP!

Hey CoinTalkers! I just need a little help with a quick issue. I am a somewhat experienced coin collector and I have a 1854-O W/ Arrows Liberty Seated Half Dollar in apx. CH. VF condition which I believe has a DIE CRACK. It is not listed in the Cherrypickers Guide or in any other well known coin variety/error book or magazine. Sorry, I cannot post a picture due to camera quality issues but I will try to describe it the best I can...If you have the obverse of the coin facing towards you, on the left side starting from about the 5th star up the crack goes down the outside of the stars with a nice circular motion the makes a quick turn going almost vertical under the date and passes right under the left arrows grazing the undermost side of it and stoping right between the 1 and 8. I am unsure whether this is a DIE CRACK or DIE BREAK. Are they the same thing, because that is what I always thought?! The "crack" is elevated slightly off of the coin so I KNOW it is not a dig or hairline scratch. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE ASSIST ME WITH THIS ISSUE...? Thank You Very Much For Your Time.

-Brian

 

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Sounds like a crack. But unless its big a die crack isn't uncommon. Especially on 1800s coinage. And the chances of your particular die crack being listed (especially in the Cherrypicker's) .... well, the odds aren't too good.
However, I wish you the best of luck.

 

Thank You. And also, it infact is a very LARGE die crack...

 

Some books discuss die cracks, others don't. That's because die cracks are NOT die varieties, and they are NOT errors.

So why would any die variety book bother mentioning die cracks ?

Because sometimes the difference between varieties is very small, such as the spacing of letters or numerals, and the presence of a die crack is a more positive ID than the engraver's "signature".

Also, die states are often collectible in their own right, so a variety book will often present all known die states of a given die variety.

 

how about a picture?

listen to 900 fine, he knows what he talks about.