Got this off a metal detectorist for $10. A fair price. It's worn all to heck, but it's still a historic old coin. Kudos to anyone who can make out a date. I enhanced the images to bring more detail out. It's a draped bust. Made from 1796 to 1807 .
You can eliminate 1796, 1797, and the early 1798's. And most likely not after late 1803. If I spent a little more time I could narrow it down further
He is going by the type 2 hair. I am not where near as good as conder101 or marshall at attributing these with this little detail.
I look at the picture and I see features that let me eliminate certain things. The type 2 hair let me eliminate all of the 1796's and 1797's and the 1798's S-144 thru 165. It a small fraction reverse which eliminates most everything after 1803 S-259. I can eliminate other various varieties because certain features are not present that are always or almost always present. For example it can't be a 1798 S-166 because it lacks the major arc crack on the reverse which is always present on that variety. The highest wave of the hair appears to be just about under the center of the R in LIBERTY and that would narrow things down as well. Basically late 1798 and a few later date issues. Once I determined which dies fir that then I would start checking out the placement of a few other things.
good point lincolncent....it just amazes me how peeps can take such small aspects out of something, but that just comes with time and learning. I have taught history for over 10 years now (studied it since I could read) and if you asked me certain aspects of the greeks or other historical facts I could do that, but it is amazing how some can see stuff on something as small as a coin like that. I would love to get that good.
I've been studying coins since 1966, collecting since Feb 1972. Joined EAC in 1982 and I've been collecting the early date cents since 1985.
Take some more pics. Play with the light on the coin when you take the pics. Try some with axial lighting ( where the light source is level horizontally to the coin's surface) and all. You might be able to pick up some of the date. If you do this, let's see them posted here!
I played around with different lighting setups and couldn't really make it better than shown. However, maybe it's my eyes playing tricks on me, but I can make out an "8".
Yes, I can see the parts of what I would interpret as a 180 on this coin. That only goes back to what Condor gave you on the dates, but it would confirm what he gave you as info on narrowing down the date. These LCs are quite popular and have been studied in depth, with identifying features, ect. Condor is knowledgeable about this. That being said, sometimes the coin itself is worn in enough spots that full identification can become impossible. So....... Congrats, you have an old LC! I'm really good at suggesting things for others to do, so if you like the early LCs, you might want to do a good drawing/overlay of that coin, and try to identify specific features that are definitely still there. Then go by what Condor said, about Type 2 hair, small fractions, ect. and see why he said what he said. Bet you'd have some knowledge you could bank on later, since you are interested in coins.
