Hey Guys. I recently purchased this 1806 half cent for my type collection, got it at a local live auction. I'm not all that familiar with grading standards on these things, and also I am not all that skilled at determining past cleaning activities. In particular on this coin, I am wondering whether the toning is original or artificial. The coin is darker in hand than it appears in the photos. I also wanted to see if those of you familiar with this series would provide a grade approximation (also a value approximation if you are comfortable giving one). There are scratches that can be seen on the obverse, however, they are exaggerated by the lighting in the photo. In fact, I didn't even realize that the coin was scratched until I looked at this picture that I had taken (guess I need to examine potential buys a bit more closely). The coin has a rotated reverse, the degree of which is shown in the pictures, kinda cool. Thanks!
Nice looking half cent Cherd. It is a Cohen-4, Rarity 1. My take on grade is F-12 sharpness, net VG8. As far as value, your guess is as good as mine. I won't make any comment on cleaning as to do so from pictures is a difficult task.
Just out of curiosity how do you know that penny? I'm not trying to be smart here, but what gives it the variety designation?
Ooy, if this is correct then I significantly overestimated the grade. I have a tendency to give older coins a bit of leniency when grading. I have to stop doing that. BTW, what is meant by the "sharpness" designation? There are 4 varieties, which are dependent on the style of the 6 in the date and whether there are stems present on the reverse. I just looked it up online, would provide a link to the website but I'm not sure what the policies are on stuff like that.
Well - I think I would have started it at VF and netted at F-12 for what look like scratches. As for cleaning - possible, I just worry about the colors on some of surfaces. Of course that could be the pictures. A nice little coin in my opinion.
Some people grade early american copper by the EAC standards which give two grades(three if you count condition). The first grade assigned is for the amount or wear. From there you deduct points for problems on the coins. I am not much into half cents, although I would like to be, but my understanding is they are graded stricter due to their small size. I would guess a grade around f12-f15 net 8 due to rim nick, scratches.
I am not a copper weenie. I started the grade at VF30 and then came to a net grade of F12. The obverse marks look like old scratches and not any type of adjustment mark. I really do not know the nuances of grading early American copper coins. You should probably trust the opinions of the EAC experts above my F12 opinion.
Aside from the few scratches and some rim issues, it's not a bad piece, so long as you didn't overpay. Guy
To me it's a 1806 C-4 large high 6 with stems. It has a major rotated reverse and the reverse die is misaligned. It has a stronger than average strike (This variety typically comes weak at TES.) The color looks good and it has hard smooth surfaces with no porousity. Sharpness is VF-20 and it has a modest old scrape on the hair bow and hair oriented from 10:00 toward the center and a small rim ding above the R in LIBERTY. I would net the coin as a VG-10 with some claims to F-12.
Well, according the grade evaluations being given here (which I am tending to agree with), I overpayed by a good bit ($150). Oh well, chalk another one up to the learning curve. I still really like the coin though, no big deal. Thanks for all the input everybody.
For what it's worth (if you'll pardon the pun), the pricing bible for early copper (Copper Quotes by Robinson, aka CQR) gives the pricing for average (net) graded 1806 C-4 half cents as VG-8: $75 and F-12: $100
I just went back and looked at some auction catalogs and my grade was way to low. It's sharpness is at least a 20, maybe more. I do have a question about the color, does the coin have any porisity or are the surfaces hard? If the surfaces are hard then maybe a 25 net 15 coin.
My guess is net VG grade, I'll assume the attribution on variety is correct as Cohen-4. Probably $120 retail value?
I like your half cent. My 1807 half cent has worse scratches than your coin. I'm going to post my 1803 cent for CT analysis (if I can get a good photo).
