Can someone tell me -- authoritatively -- whether the 1796 Half Dimes have a plain edge, a reeded edge, or an engrailed edge? I think I've been offered a fake, but need more information.
Red Book says they have a reeded edge...as does coinfacts. http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Coin/Detail/4254?redir=t
Thanks. Even though Redbooks are so 20th Century, I ought to buy one, just to have a lot of facts in one handy location. Now can someone tell me the author(s) of a really good reference books about Half Dimes?
The number one book regarding pre-turban and Capped Bust half dimes is without a doubt, Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837 by Logan/McCloskey. It includes die characteristics, reed/dentil counts, die state info, rarity and more for every known half dime die marriage excluding the most recent recent discovery (1835, LM-12), discovered after publishing. It is a very difficult book to find and not cheap when found but it is worth every dollar. By far my favorite book. Also available is the web site, everythinghalfdimes.com, which I'm certain you will find extremely helpful. There are additional references that greatly enhance the study of half dimes, should you become more deeply interested (JR Journal, Logan, Reiver catalogs, Valentine, etc.) but Federal Half Dimes is the one that is necessary. Regarding Liberty Seated half dimes, there is not nearly as much published information but if you are interested in studying the die marriages, you should refer to The United States Half Dimes by Daniel Valentine and the Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes by Al Blythe. If you are more interested in them from a date/mint/major variety standpoint, you will find Blythe's book more helpful. More detailed information can be found in the back issues of the Gobrecht Journal, if desired. Let me know if you'd like help with anything half dime related or Bust related for that matter. If I can't help you, I can point you to someone who can. Jesse
There isn't a lot on half dimes Jesse pretty much covered it as to a fake 1796 I haven't heard of one but I'm not surprised is a fairly rare coin and I've only seen a couple in hand they should have a reeded edge as to the redbook its a very handy general reference I use all the time especially for mintage figures coin weights and much other useful data
