I was recently able to add this 1830 N-6, R-4, Medium Letters to my collection. It is a sought after variety among EAC collectors and I am quite happy with as it is often found in lower grades. At grades of F12 and above (specially above!) auction prices rise rapidly. This one is quite nice and with very appealing tone, but it does have some thin hairlines at the bottom of the reverse. More evident in photos than in-hand. This is one variety which is often mis-attributed by sellers: many are advertised as Medium Letters which they in fact are not. One fast way to distinguish the Medium specially between from other 1830's is by looking at the spacing between the individual letters in 'STATES', specially between 'T A T E'. On N-6 the letters are LESS widely spaced at their base that on the Normal Letter varieties. This becomes more evident once you have seen a few. I have attached a picture comparing the reverses of two 1830 cents to illustrate this.
Handsome coin. Nice surfaces. Aside from those few wispy hairlines around the date, it's nearly ideal for something in this grade range, I'd say. Perhaps some sulfur-Vaseline paste could be used to tone those hairlines a bit, so they'd blend in better with the color of the rest of the fields.
Thanks, that is a good idea I hadn't thought about. I may even have some Dellers somewhere although I have never used it.
