What woud this buy in 1832???

Just got this little gem in the mail today and wanted to share it with you guys. It's in pretty darn good condition, going by the RedBook grading criteria it should fall into the 35-40 range. The ear and clasp are distinct, the eyebrow visable...

Thanks for looking
B

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Cool :thumb:
Almost looks AUish to me.

 

That's a nice piece. What did you give for it, if you don't mind me asking?

 

It's been awhile but I think I paid around $90 with S&H included.

B

 

Very attractive coin, thanks for post of image of it.

 

Ben,
With that you could buy 10lbs of flour or 5lbs of sugar plus a candy cane for the kids in 1832. and maybe some tea also.

 

When you figure that laborers depending on skill didn't make much more then $0.60-$2.00 "a week" a nickel or 5 cent piece was a lot of money. Actually any money must have been a lot of money.

I imagine people bought things that they could not grow, make or trade for. Can you imagine how today's average person would deal with a life like that. I think many would just lay down and die if they could not get to the "Super Wal-Mart" and buy what they want on credit.

That's one of the things I like about coin collecting, to me it stimulates the mind about the past instead of forgetting it ever exsisted.

 

My opinion is that that coin is about 50.

 

I've always liked high grade circulated coins better than uncirculated. It's a character flaw I can't shake.

That's a very nice coin!

 

very nice I got a get me one of those:hail:

 

Bones. just a suggestion, but if it were me, the next step would be to have it authenticated. You may have something there that you least expect. :kewl:

 

That was my take also.

 

According to the historian Paul Johnson, America had a chronic shortage of labor throughout the first half of the 19th Century, so that even a laborer with no special skill could earn $2 a week above the amount needed to sustain life, and with that $2 he could buy four acres of land from the US government.

So, your lovely little coin could buy 1/10th an acre of government land, among other things.

 

Thanks for the concern, but what looks fishy? A pretty knowledgable fellow took a look at it least evening, 1.35 grams 15.5mm. Variety is a LM-7/9, in other words is a pretty common die variety at R2.
http://half-dimes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=57

Take Care
B

 

I am not an expert on these early silver coins but from what little I know it looks ok to me. Nice coin IMHO. I would call it a 40 at a minimum.

 

According to Economic History Service,5 cents in 1832 would be worth about $11.73 in 2005, if you use the unskilled labor index.