Check out this 1812 Capped Bust Half's reverse. The crack almost completely bisects the reverse die. It had (never can tell) to be near it's terminal state. With catastrophic failure dead ahead. Take Care Ben
Cool. Is that one of the Overton varieties? Here is an 1835 Bust Quarter I have that has 3 obverse die cracks. One crack goes from rim to rim right across Liberty. This one also has to be nearing terminal die state.
I agree, that quarter is something. :thumb: Indeed it is. Incidentally, they're all considered Overton varieties. Before Al cam along and published his indepth studies they were considered Beistle varieties. This change happened in the middle 60s or so. Take Care Ben
I like significant die cracks too. This coin has a rainbow-like crack arcing through Liberty's head on the obverse, and a 360-degree crack through the letters on the reverse. I don't know how you would describe the die state.
The cracks are spectacular. As far as the die state, I'd say it's still in it's intermediate phase. See the milling on the rims, they are still rather sharp and indicate the die is still relatively new and hasn't started wearing down yet. This coin doesn't have an Overton variety since his studies ended with the 1836 lettered edge coin. Take Care Ben
Doesn't the presence of a crack still indicate a fracture in the die itself. I'm no expert...but I would think that a sizable crack such as this one would be a major weakness to the die, new or old. Wouldn't that weakness cause the die to fail either way?
You're correct, there is a significant crack in the die it's self, but they would tend to keep using them until it (the die) failed. Perhaps the next coin struck was the final one, or 200 later. It would be interesting if there were other specimens to compare it to and see the development of the fissures on the planchet/coin. Take Care Ben
