So I went to a small show on Saturday with an itch to swap a coin I didn't like for something. Looked at a fair amount of bust coinage with problems, or it was overpriced. For better or worse I finally selected this because I didn't want to go home skunked. A Hawaiian piece has been on my bucket list anyway. So give it a grade and comments are welcome too!
The obverse (head side) is about a 20 and the reverse is about a 25, in rounded numbers. The worst part of the coin is the man's head which has, not only wear, but what appears to be some damage. Otherwise, I think it's a great coin. I really like these Hawaiian coins and have bid on many of them on eBay, however, I have not scored one yet. As a sidebar to Hawaiian coinage, I thought we might enjoy a little Hawaiian history. Hawaii was a sovereign nation until a group of businessmen financed a revolt against the Queen in the 1890's. Here's the Wiki on it : Overthrow_of_the_Hawaiian_Kingdom It's a very interesting read.
I think it's an easy VF. Where it falls in there will be debated. The reverse is better than the obverse but I wonder if this may have been caused by a poor strike.
Thanks for the input. The dealer called it a VF, I am glad others agree. @Hookman is correct. I just thought it was dirt when I bought it, but there are a couple of dirty indentions by the eye. Could it be a planchet flaw that didn't strike out? I probably wouldn't have bought it if I had spotted them, but they hardly show without magnification. Good lesson for me though.
If you got a good price, then you did good. Hawaiian coins are not rare but they are not "everyday" coins either. They seem to hold their value well.
The dealer said he'd had it for too long, we traded straight across for a cleaned F+ bust half. I don't think it was a great deal but I'm happy.
Nice. I just bid on (and lost on) one that had been made into a love token. My initial instincts here said VF20. Then looking a bit harder at the king's hair and beard, I dialed that back a little and voted F15, to be conservative. Really, I could see it either way. For any coin with a human portrait, I'm all about the hair detail. It is admittedly not an infallible method. I also look at leaves in wreaths and feathers on birds.
