Wife gave this to me as an early Father's Day gift. Need opinion on Grade and is that toning or vergidis? Coin has to have been cleaned at some point in the past. Thanks
I would say the coin has VF details. I also think that what is on the coin are the remnants of shellac that has either partially flaked off or been removed. Either way, it is not normal toning nor is it verdigris.
Appears to be VF, cleaned. The obverse appears to have some sort of environmental damage, although it could be heavy dip residue that wasn't washed off properly. This is an O-115 die pairing, an R2 if you're interested. Easy to tell by the extreme offset of T/I, and the recut 0 in 50.
So, should I give it some time in acetone to see if the residue or perhaps the mention of shellac which Doug suggested, desolves ? Also, for the ill informed, what is an o-115 die pairing, R2, and T/I offset mean. I understand the recut 0 in 50. Thanks for your input. I think I'll keep the wife. She said the dealer graded the coin as F, I thought it looked like VF based on Photograde, but my grading skills are still fuzzy.
Depending on the shellac/lacquer/varnish formula used ( old was either made from specific plant or insect material, newer from polymer plastic material) Acetone may or may not remove it. Acetone works best on the older stuff, some of the newer stuff may require different solvents. Acetone won't hurt the coin, some of the other stuff could. If the acetone rinse doesn't remove it, it will allow you to put it into a relatively inert holder until the correct answers present themselves. No need to do anything questionable at this time, the coin will keep. Jim
O-115, refers to the Overton listing for Bust $1/2, by A. Overton, current edition by Don Parsley. "United States Early Half Dollar Die Varieties." Die pairing: simply, the use of the obverse and reverse die in this combination. There were 18 obverse dies used that year, and this is #14. There were 21 reverse dies used that year, and this was Reverse O or #15. If different obverse & reverse dies are combined they make different 'pairings'. R-2 is Rarity 2, = Slightly uncommon (actually, no added value to Bust collectors). T/I offset refers the relatinship between the I in the motto" E Pluribus Unum" on the banner/ribbon above the eagle and the letter T in States (the second T). This position is used as an easy way to eliminate many of the difference varieties. I hope that this helps.
No, you graded it OK. The dealer was net grading the coin (downgrading it) because he knows it is a problem coin (cleaning & shellac).
Thanks, the coin now has character and history. Now if I can safely remove the crud, it will fit nicely in my type set.
Great description, treashunt. Early half dollar collectors like to collect by die pairing, which were all catalogued by Al Overton. There are 470+ pairings listed in teh book, starting with the Flowing Hair through 1836. Each pair is given a rarity rating, and is throughly documented in a giant encylopedia.
