Im tellin you alot of talk around here about the 1832 capped bust half small letters!One of the lower mintages of the high mintages,Im going to try and find out why these are so "HOT!" I'll get back to you later!!
Hmm - I did not catch that. Most 1832's are small letters - only one variety for large letters. Is there a break down of mintages? I thought finding the large letters was tough even though an r-1 coin. Yep - I would not call 1832 a key date, but I do know the local shop has seemed to have a run at them getting picked over. Have to visit them again soon.
key? This seems odd. The small letter variety is the common variety of the 1832 bust half. There are 23 different varieties of the 1832 bust half (see United States Early Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836 otherwise known as Overton). Of the 23 varieties, only Overton's 101 (rarity 2) and 102 (rarity 1) are large letter reverses. The others (O-103 to O-123) can al be considered small letter reverses with rarities ranging from R.1 to R.4 (except for O-123 which is an R.7). If you want to collect bust halves, you definitely want to get a copy of Overton (the current 4th edition is now under the authorship of his son-in-law Don Parsley). I always considered the key coin in the bust half series to be the 1815/2. Rarity Definitions R.1: > 1000 Common R.2: 500-1000 not so common R.3: 201-500 scarce R.4: 76-200 very scarce R.5: 31-75 rare R.6: 13-30 very rare R.7: 4-12 extremely rare R.8: 1-3 unique or nearly so
the 1832? mmmhh I always though the 1812/1 large 8 was the key. or the 1817/4 was the super key date in the series
Yes, it does seem odd. Moreover, these older specialist coins aren't "trendy". They don't have these big surges in popularity like modern coins sometimes do. An individual specimen can be a "WOW !!!" coin and create a splash in a small circle, but that doesn't mean everyone has suddenly gone nuts for a die variety as a whole, particularly a common one.
You betcha ! Even if you don't "Gotta collect 'em all", these attribution books make v-e-r-y interesting reading. Very educational, in more ways than one. Plus, with the book, you're "armed and ready"; whenever a specimen pops up, you can attribute the little fella. Every so often, you'll find a nice coin - r.3 or r.4. Maybe better !
Go for it, but you'll soon learn a valuable lesson in the process. Never buy when something is hot. If it really is, which I haven't seen here, it's a fad that will die in a few months and prices will die with it. Hold off till people are interested in something else. If there's one thing I've noticed about coin collectors that jump bandwagons, it's that their attention span is brief...they will move on. Just trying to save you certain heartache later on. Guy~
1832 bust half reply Yeah I'm familiar with coins it doesnt mean Im gonna hop out there and get it and when coins are hot the premium goes up, but why not buy when hot if you know about coins you would know that its not the dealers who set the prices its us!Correct me if I'm wrong ,but our buying and selling with the constant addon of premiums back and forth is common sense who jacks the coin prices higher!
additional sources of info While it may be a couple of months out of date, the Grey Sheet does give bust half pricing for common varieties. That should be your starting point for deciding what to pay for a bust half. Obviously, if you are trying to buy a R.4 coin, you'll have to shell out more wampum (did I spell that right? and please excuse the pun). If you are a serious fan of bust halves, you should investigate the Bust Half Nut Club: http://www.busthalfprices.com/bhnc.php Best of luck on your next 1832 bust half.
