1817 Capped Bust Half Dollar

Discussion in 'What's it Worth' started by Davedawg77, Dec 29, 2010.

  1. Davedawg77

    Davedawg77 New Member

    I collect Large Cents and got this for xmas instead. I like it a lot but don't know much about it. Is there anything special about the date? (There seems to be a larger gap between the 1 and 8 and the 1 and the 7 while the 81 is close together) Is this some type of varitey? Also, how would this grade? Thanks
     

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  3. swish513

    swish513 Penny & Cent Collector

    i'm not familiar with the series, but the stars look off to me.
     
  4. LostDutchman

    LostDutchman Under Staffed & Overly Motivated Supporter

    It looks like a no questions asked genuine piece to me. It'll be pretty easy to attribute with that date placement. If someone hasn't done it by tomorrow morning I'll look it up for you.
     
    Randy Abercrombie and atcarroll like this.
  5. Jim M

    Jim M Ride it like ya stole it

    O-106 R2. Commonly called the Comet Head.. for obvious reasons
     
  6. mpcusa

    mpcusa "Official C.T. TROLL SWEEPER"

    Looks like a real cool coin ;)
     
  7. Davedawg77

    Davedawg77 New Member

    Anything odd about the date? What about a grade?
     
  8. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Here's the thing with the date. Sometimes the numerals were punched in one at a time, and sometimes they were punched in with a block punch. This one, it looks like the 1 and 7 were punched in individually while the 8 and 1 were punched in with a 2 numeral block.

    That's about all there is to it. Normal for the series to have dates like this.
     
  9. vnickels

    vnickels Matt Draiss Numismatics & Galleries

    VG-F just guessing.
     
  10. gbroke

    gbroke Naturally Toned

    Can we see the reverse for a better shot at a grading?
     
  11. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    Like Doug said, many dates hand punched, so you see variability in the series, especially earlier issues. These were produced in large numbers at the time since they were the largest denomination US coin for a number of years, so they were used for bank reserves. This also explains why so many high grade examples exist.

    For grade, I would say f-VF waiting a better pic.
     
  12. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    Until 1840 they used individual digit punches for the dates, in 1840 they experimented with two digit punches and in 1841 switched over completely to four digit punches.
     
  13. mark_h

    mark_h Somewhere over the rainbow

    Nice coin. Next time you get near a coin store look at the Parsley United States half dollar die varieties. A good book.
     
  14. Lugia

    Lugia ye olde UScoin enthusiast

    got some nice toning even tho its low grade. even tho theres no reverse pic id say F 12-VF 15.
     
  15. vnickels

    vnickels Matt Draiss Numismatics & Galleries

    You mean Fine 15 or VF 20
     
  16. longshot

    longshot Enthusiast Supporter

    Old thread, but why do some sources call the comet head (O106) an R2 variety, while others call it an R5? (Including my Overton book.)
    And no, I'm not getting confused with the O106a.
    But I must be missing something.
    @okbustchaser
     
  17. okbustchaser

    okbustchaser I may be old but I still appreciate a pretty bust Supporter

    Typo (one of many) in the 4th edition of Overton. It's an R-2 (and common even for R-2s)
     
    longshot likes this.
  18. longshot

    longshot Enthusiast Supporter

    Thank you.
    Appearently it didn't get corrected in my 5th edition either.
     
  19. okbustchaser

    okbustchaser I may be old but I still appreciate a pretty bust Supporter

    https://www.busthalfprices.com/index.php

    Dave Rutherford's site not only has prices realized for bust halves at public auction, but the following Overton Errata Pages

    3rd Edition
    https://www.busthalfprices.com/errata.php

    4th Edition
    https://www.busthalfprices.com/errata4.php

    5th Edition
    https://www.busthalfprices.com/errata5.php

    Anyone interested in collecting by Overton needs to spend 20 bucks and subscribe.
     
    longshot likes this.
  20. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    The early mint frequently made dies with the first two or three numbers in the date entered and added the last one or two digits when the die went into service. I have a die variety set of 1797 half dimes that clearly show this policy. For example the last “7” might be much larger than the first which indicates that two different punches were used to enter the “7”s.
     
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