Large Cent Braided Hair (1839-1857)

Can't tell much.
An out-of-focus photo of a coin in a 2x2.

 

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Love the avatar man!! Way cool !!

 

I did pick up a couple of books on early American copper. I bought United States Copper Cents; Howard R. Newcomb, 1986 and Early American Coppers Anthology; Sanford J. Durst, 1977. I would recommend the latter of the two books for someone wanting to start collecting large copper. There is quite a bit of history along with die variety attribution for all large copper. It offers plate coin pictures of several renowned collections. Once a person decides what early copper they want to collect, then a more specialized book can be purchased.

When I first started collecting large cents, a date set was my goal. When I got the reference material the way I wanted to collect large copper changed. Right now, I have selected 1852 as the date I want to collect all the die varieties for. That is what I am working on. I have three of the varieties now. Any other large cents I collect will most likely be for my type set.

For those that decide they want to collect large copper I highly suggest reference material be one of the first purchases. If you are merely buying a coin or two for a type set, well, then a place like CoinTalk will have the info you need. There are several knowledgeable collectors here that are more than willing to guide someone in a purchase for a type set. For those that get bit by the copper bug, welcome to our world.

Thanks for looking.

 

I too have been bitten by the BHLC bug. Although my ardor has cooled somewhat (in favour of 1801 LC varieties), I'm still very keen on the series.

A few things I have learned along the way:

• True bargains on eBay are few and far between. Living where I do (New Zealand), there are few other options than eBay and I scan the new listings every day. Whilst you can pick up "fillers" at reasonable prices, higher graded coins (my objective is XF+), are often over-priced - this applies to both BIN and auction prices. With that said, the best purchases I have made have been when I quickly jumped on new BIN listings (sometimes offering significantly less than the listed price). Knowing exacting what you're looking for helps greatly.
• Pricing is very dependent on the coin. I know that sounds obvious but I've found that the price spread for coins of the same grade - especially the less common dates - varies greatly depending on strike, colour and, generally, eye appeal. The best examples often go for amounts far in excess of guide book (whichever you prefer). You want it, you pay for it.
• There is always another coin. We're not talking 1804 silver dollars here. If the price of today's coin is too high, wait for tomorrow or the next day. Another will come around. Patience is your friend.
• A lot of the BHLCs out there have been cleaned in the past. That personally doesn't bother me as long as they have re-toned and have good eye appeal. I generally don't buy slabbed coins and don't plan to have them slabbed. If you are looking at future resale, be careful.
• I couldn't agree more with the comments above regarding buying the books first. I've got the Q. David Bowers book and Newcomb's book and spend hours with them (I have yet to find a reasonably priced copy of the Grellman book).

Good luck.

 

Been a season ticket holder for a few years. My son brought me back to Coin collecting and I turned him on to he wonderful world of hockey. Since I grew up in Chicago, hockey is a birthright.

As for coins, my son still loves finding a nice large cent.

 

We had a coin show today sponsored by the local coin club. Dealers were really sparse. I would say about half of what would usually attend the show to sell. Since, this thread was brought to my attention, I went on the hunt for an 1852 large cent at the show. Large cents not encapsulated were also sparse. Okay, encapsulated ones were also slim pickings.

One of the local dealers has quite a few raw coins. He is overpriced. He had an 1852 in his case. I went on to look at other offerings. I came back to him last as I was leaving out the door. I asked to look at the large cent. 1852 has 22 die pairings with three varieties that are sort of rare. N-13(R3), N-16(R2), and N-22(R3). N-13 is an easy die pair to remember. There is only one other die pair that even closely resembles N-13.

Much to my amazement the only 1852 he had, attributed out to N-13. The coin looks low VF and has been cleaned. I talked to the dealer about the attribution of large cents. He told me he doesn't attribute them after the mid 40's. Lucky for me I was able to mark one of the rarer varieties off my list. If the coin had been a more common die pairing then I would have passed.

 

I always make it to a few games every year, lower bowl, Jackets shoot twice. What a great atmosphere. Im really hoping they get it together in time for a playoff run. Would be nice to see.

 

We used to have a hockey team in town. Does the name Gordie Howe ring a bell? We may be getting a team in the near future. I'd rather go to a hockey game than watch it on TV. My son also got me into coin collecting.

 

Gronnh, congrats on getting bit by the copper bug. Looks like you are getting into attributing late dates. If so I can't encourage you enough to get Grellman. In regards to the 1852's, there are 19 business strike varieties and one proof only variety. Newcomb did a great job on classifications, but he made some mistakes which have since been corrected, and updated in Grellman. The N13 you found is really the last die state of N12. N2 is a late die state of N1, N9 is a late die state of N22, and N19 has never been seen and has been delisted. Additionally, since Newcomb was published a new variety has been found, and labeled N23, currently an R5 and worth a healthy premium over common varieties.

If this is an area you are getting interested in, Grellman really is the only serious option. I know people balk at the price, but the value of the information contained far exceeds it's purchase price. Congrats on the coin and best of luck on your variety hunt, it's a great way to collect!!!

 

There were definitely more folks recommending the Grellman book over the Newcomb when I started this thread. I think when I sourced the Newcomb book the same source did not have a Grellman in stock. I went to look for one again and was sidetracked by the anthology book I referenced above.

Newcomb references a die crack from the bust point to star 2 for N-13. Then goes on to say the die crack extends from star 2 to the rim. Obviously, the coin I purchased does not have that die crack. I had found some of these inconsistencies in previous attributions. As a matter of fact, these inconsistencies started with a coin I purchased on E-Bay. I couldn't match the reverse with the obverse attribution. That is when I went looking for the Grellman book the second time and bought the anthology.

Thanks for sharing that information.

 

The crack extends from the bust through the first star, then to the detils below the second star. I actually think I see a point extending off the first star, towards the bust, which is the remnant of the crack. It's not that your coin lacks the crack, it's that it was faint to begin with, and wear/damage has removed most of it. Those faint cracks are tough to spot, they disappear first in the fields, but can sometimes still be seen if you look close to the devices as the raised portion of metal on the coin provides some protection for these faint details.

 

That is because it is the standard reference and the best book for the late dates. Print runs are not high and most of the copies are in the hands of EACers and they seldom let them go. So there aren't that many used copies floating around. Sometimes the first or second editions are available at a better price, but they don't have the most recent discoveries and/or delistings of pieces that have turned out to be die stages of other varieties. The book may become even more difficult to find. In the next to the last issue of Penny-Wise Grellman had indicated the third edition was now sold out, but in the last issue he had them again. Possibly found another box of them.

 

Bob's website still says he's out of them. Anyway, I've got a line on a copy - and a way to get it from that side of the world to this...

 

I’ll bring this thread back to life with a new purchase. . .

 

I love it. I can only afford XF or AU det large cents. I heard the Randall hoard cents go for around $900 at auction. Crazy to have a 150+ year old coin with luster like it was made yesterday.

 

Said the word "I" too much... maybe I should start checking my comments before I post.