OK, one of the coins on my "list" to pick up down the road is an example of the 1861-O Seated Liberty Half with the characteristic obverse die crack that shows it was the die that was used to produce the CSA Half Dollars. I have seen several numbers to describe this crack (WB-102, FS-401, ect...). Are there multiple varieties that demonstrate this die crack with different numbers (illustrating different stages of die wear) or are all the numbers I have seen simply different classification systems for the same thing? I'm trying to learn about this coin because I have wanted one for quite some time. I think it will be out of my price range for quite some time, but I want to have all the knowledge I can when I am ready to purchase one. For those of you who might not know about this coin, here is a picture of a nice one that I saw on heritage. It sold for about $4000 last January. The crack can be seen running from Liberty's shoulder past her nose to the rim.
That obverse (obv 5) was only paired with two reverses, Rev E and the CSA reverse. It does come in four different die states for the obverse die. It was first paired with E in and uncracked state (5), then the crack appeared (5a). Next the die was polished removing a spike that had been present coming off the serif of the one (5b) and it was paired with the CSA rev. The die in the 5b state was the reunited with Rev E. A new die crack now forms along the hemline to the back of Liberty's heel, and finally across her ankle to star 13 (5c) The different numbers WB-102, FS-401, and you may also see W-11 and W-11a all refer to the same coin. In the case of W-11 and W-11a it refers to the pairing before and after the use with the CSA die.
OK, so there seems to be 4 different "flavors" of this die as is became cracked...that makes sense. Is the uncracked state (5) recognizable through die markers? I think it would be a fun project down the road to put together a set of all 4. Also, it sounds like the 5b state is when it was paired with the CSA reverse. Is this correct? I am a little confused as to why it was repaired with the USA reverse after the CSA coin was minted (unless I misread your post). I know the O mint did finish producing their order of US coins as they were supposed to...but it surprises me that they would continue to strike "foreign" coins as the war was going. Also, when they chose this obverse die for the striking of the CSA half did they just grab one at random or did they chose this one for a reason? I wouldn't think they would pick a cracked die for the first striking of their coin unless all the others were in even worse shape...unless they just didn't check it.
Does anyone know the answers to my questions in the previous post? Also, does anyone know of a source that might have more information about this particular coin? Thanks!
You might want to check out , Seated Half Dollars by Larry Briggs or contact :LSCC Officers (2008-2009 Club Year) LSCC President: John McCloskey email: John.McCloskey@notes.udayton.edu LSCC Vice-President: Bill Bugert email: wb8cpy@earthlink.net LSCC Secretary-Treasurer: Leonard Augsburger email: leonard_augsburger@hotmail.com Thats the Liberty Seated Collectors Club officers.
Yes the uncracked die can be identified through die markers. Look for the spike coming off of the top left of the 1 that was polished off to create 5b before they paired it with the CSA rev. The spike is present on both the uncracked (5) and early cracked state (5a). Unfortunately obv 1 and 4 also have a similar spike but it is higher up on obv 5 roughly at the same level as the top of the 1. The date also slopes up to the right more steeply than on any other obv. Yes the 5b state was first paired with the CSA rev and then later re-mated with rev E. In Jan 1861 the New Orleans Mint began the year striking coin for the Union. Some 330,000 half dollars were struck but only about 54,000 of them were dated 1861. The rest were dated 1860. The 1860 dies were destroyed some time between Jan 26 and Jan 31st. On Jan 31st the New Orleans Mint was taken over by the State of Louisiana. A further 1,184,912 half dollars were struck by the State between Jan 31st and April. Around April 1st the CSA took over the New Orleans Mint from the State of LA. Production of half dollars continuned under the CSA. (Why? Because the country needed coinage.) In early April four pattern CSA half dollars were struck using the 5b state obv. Why? Probably because it was already in the press. After the patterns were struck the E rev was returned to the press and coinage continued. On April 30th coinage ceased because of a lack of bullion. From April 1 to April 30 the CSA struck 1,018,000 coins with the US dies. On May 18th the US half dollar dies were defaced. The mint formally closed on May 31st 1861. Larry Briggs did not write a book on Seate halves, it was seated quarters. The book coinman was thinking of was the Wiley-Bugert book The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dollars. This book is long out of print and very difficult to find a copy of. Fortunately it IS available on-line for FREE!! http://www.stellacoinnews.com/index...omplete-guide-to-liberty-seated-half-dollars/ Even better more up to date information can be found in the Gobrecht Journal issues #94 and #97. Unfortunately these may be rather hard to come by. Talk to me about them privately.
Yes that is the reference book I was referring to. It was co-authored by Briggs I believe. In any event the Gobrecht Journal is good reference.
