Hello all, I am hoping that somebody who knows Canadian coins better than I do can help me with which variety is this 1859 Large cent....There are a lot of varieties and I know none of em.....Please help!! Thanks, Frankp36
Tough to say with this picture - I'd need a really clear picture of the reverse, particularly the "59" on the date. I can tell you what it's not. Not a wide 9/8 overdate. There were hundreds of dies, so it can get tricky.
Agree with jester3681.....hard to be positive without a bright close up of the date; I think it's the low narrow 9 variety; the lower loop of the 9 looks a bit square like which Charest lists as a Type 3 Low 9.
I co-wrote the Charlton variety section for the 2011 (65th edition) Victoria Cents with a couple other guys. Unfortunately, Bill Cross at Charlton only had room for inclusion of 80 varieties ... there could have been easily double that without getting into those that require more than a 5X loupe. I have nearly 1000 1859's so I'm well-versed on what's out there. It's hard to tell from your photos, but I don't see anything in any of the key markers (or places to look) that says it's anything uncommon. The 1859's were strange ducks ... thin bronze planchets that were struck on machines designed for thick copper. Dies and machinery were eaten up (plus the intricate reverse design) by the combination. Since they used the masters and hubs from the 1858 strikings, the last 8 was removed from the hub and all the dies started out as "185" and then the 9 was handpunched in. Since it took 2-3 pressings just to make the "185" blank working die (between alternating cycles of annealing & quenching) and then 2-4 whacks with the hammer and punch to add the "9", there are almost too many 1859 varieties to count. Some working dies lasted less than 5000 coins before being destroyed .. some 50,000 or more. Some obverses were married to as many as 6-7 different reverses. There could be 300 or more 1859 "varieties" (I think about 200 reverse dies, but check the Hazby site), but only a relative few (maybe 20-30) worth collecting unless you are a die-tracker. Because the 9 was handpunched (with no guides) and not knowing if the guy had shakey hands or a liquid lunch, the last digit is all over the place.... they are high, low, near, far, skewed right or left and any combination of the mix. I have no idea how the designation of "low 9" ever got into trends .. it certainly really isn't a real variety (how low is low?) and no one in the 1859 collecting community requested it, so how did it come to be? I've looked at well over 100,000 1859's and a low 9 is no harder to find than a high one or a near one or a far one. I personally think that the near/high one is the hardest to find of the "plain" coins that don't have true evident repunching. Of all the 1859's that I've looked at, I've never found a single coin that didn't have a die crack, repunched digit/letter, or break in the hub design that causes "open" or incomplete letters ... and I'm not even counting the vine breaks at 7 & 13 that EVERY 1859 has. Don't be mislead by Ebay offerings that accentuate D/C's or barely repunched elements that can be seen only by 40X magnifications... at 40X, EVERY coin has some multiple-strike misalignment. The 1859's are one of the most facinating series that you can colllect. It's almost like collecting a new decimal denimation series .. say a 7 cent piece with a million or less struck annually for nearly 50 years. Just because your coin is not listed in any variety publication, doesn't mean that it's not a keeper. Go to Haxby's Vicky site and you'll be able to track down what working die was used for either side, as well as the die state (early thru late) as it wore and then broke. I'm sorry that I was so verbose, but Vicky varieties are my passion.
Gentlemen, I believe we've found the expert in the room. I'm looking in my Charlton Catalogue... at the section he wrote. Wonderful information, Bill! A link to the website he refers to: http://www.vickycents.com/ It has a section to identify your coin - I think with coin in hand, it should allow you to see what you've got. A wealth of information!
WOW...now that is why I love this forum....Thx so much for the info Bill!! Now that is what well versed means! Thx!
I blew my right forarm out again yesterday in the finals of the Men's League Championships .. the same one that kept me out for 10 weeks earlier this summer. I played the last 2 1/2 holes with basically one arm and was in excruciating pain. Even though I was 6 over for the last 3 holes, I still shot a 43 and helped the team win .. we are champs for the 2nd year in a row. Unfortunately, even though the temps are in the mid-60's, my golf season is over and I put the clubs away last night. I had to drink coffee, brush my teeth and pull up my zipper only using my left hand .. god I hate getting old. My wife chewed my behind again for even playing ... she knew that these last 3 weeks that I played was way over the top and I get zero sympathy.
