My first Bust Half

Hi all,

Grabbed my first Bust Half off ebay for $70. Wondering if it was a fair deal. Seller grades it at VF. Good deal? Bad deal? What would you grade the coin at based on the pictures?

Thanks,

Simon

 

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Vf 30

Judging by the reverse, much of the missing obverse detail is due to a weak strike, so I might go 35 if you pushed me.

 

Thanks for the help grading. Would you say it was a good deal for $70 in the condition it is in?

 

If it's real, sure.

 

Are you insinuating that the coin is a fake?

 

Thanks for the comment, Mike. I tend to agree it's a decent VF coin.

Mike's quote above is VITALLY important to understanding Capped Bust Halves... or any early US coins, for that matter. The bottom line is the Mint was working under duress with primitive equipment. Since the Capped Bust Halves (CBHs) were a very high profile and high mintage coin, the coiners were pushed to crank 'em out. Working on hand-operated presses meant some coins got a better strike than others.

IOW - there are MULTIPLE reasons why a coin is missing detail. It's not just wear. It's vitally important to understand that when looking at a coin.

I work a lot with CBHs; I've seen countless thousands of 'em, many in very high grade. I can count on one hand the number which are truly 100% fully struck - and four of those were proofs selling for $50,000 and up.

I'm continually amazed by "proof" CBHs with mediocre strike and later die states. I would have expected more care when making special presentation pieces like early proofs, but that's a very complex topic for another thread.

Strike is of paramount importance when considering CBHs, particularly higher grade ones.

 

I see nothing which suggests it's counterfeit. Looks like genuine US Mint product to me.

 

Thank you. It'd be a shame if my first Bust Half turned out to be counterfeit...plus the seller would get a piece of my mind!

 

Niiiiiiiice! I still have yet to get me one of those.

PS And a piece of my mind as well.

 

It's an O.111a R2, just FYI :thumb: Not sure why there was any doubt regarding its authenticity in previous comments...

900fine hit the nail on the head. IMHO, your coin has XF-Details w/ a weak obverse strike (typical of that die marriage), but the TPGs would probably net it at VF-Details because they wouldn't know any better - It's impossible for them to keep track of the striking characteristics for each and every die used to strike the Capped Bust half dollars.

 

I think you got a fair deal on it. Many of the bust halfs were cleaned at some time in their lifespan since the average person liked shiney coins. They were not collector informed.

 

Thank you all for your comments! I can't wait for it to arrive. Got it as an early hannukah gift for myself. Wanted to pick out a better grade coin, so I went with a nicer looking 1829 instead of an older coin with a lower grade.

 

Good choice. I was also thinking the reverse looked really nice, but did not know it was because of the specific die marriage.

 

Not sure I would say "good deal", but the price is not out of line, IMO.

 

EDIT: Ok, looking at PCGS:
http://www.pcgs.com/prices/PriceGuideDetail.aspx?MS=3&PR=1&c=120

It says
VF-25: $115
VF-30: $130
VF-35: $145

Do you think this is accurate? Thanks in advance.

 

I'd go with 50% to 70% of that.

 

congrats on your 1st bustie

 

Just in the interest of things, here are some new pictures. I have it down as VF-details on account of a scratch in front of the face. Other than that, does the surface look original?

 

Nice coin , I'd grade her VF-35 . I't's not a bad price , and the way busties are getting bid up on Heritage and Teletrade you did fine . Now you'll need the Overton book by Parsley and about 100 more busties . lol

 

Where could I purchase the book, for future reference? I tried searching google with very limited results. Also, why have the results I have gotten show USED books for $90+? I could buy another half for that, LOL.