This funny-looking half dime...

Most of those obscure books can be obtained, at a nominal rental fee, through Inter Library Loan. Ask at your library. They do all the paperwork and searching and shipping. My "guess" -- the fee would be $5 to $10. They'll tell you up front.

 

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Not Don's Village coins by any chance? I'm in SF and have gone to the store a few times.

 

Unfortunately, the coin you have does NOT appear to be a genuine 1802. Compare your "2" with the 2 of an authentic piece (such as this beauty: http://coins.ha.com/itm/early-half-.../a/1213-30180.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515 )

The 2 on these is a straight bottom - yours appears curled. The positioning also looks wrong. If you think there's a chance, by all means send it in (a coin like this really needs professional authentication), but I'm guessing its a fake/altered piece.

 

Well, that's certainly possible. But the dealer was a quite reputable one and he better watch out because I have the receipt!

But there are pictures of a number of other 1802s out there and I don't see exactly see what you see. I don't pretend to be a grader, but the placement doesn't look wrong to me, considering the hell that the coin has been through. I agree that in comparison to the coin you link, the bottom of the "2" does look somewhat different. But take a look at some other 1802s, especially worn ones, and it seems more ambiguous to me. It may be a nick in the bottom of the "2", I'm not sure.

I guess I could get it out and state at it in the loupe, but I doubt that's going to decide anything. I guess it goes to the grader to get graded. All that really matters is genuine, I guess, though...

 

Before I made my post, I compared your coin to all of the examples in the Heritage archives (about 12 coins). These range in grade all the way down to damaged Fair-2 (net P-01). I linked the gorgeous example I did for a little bit of eye candy.

The 2 on yours does not match any of them. I encourage you to peruse the Heritage archives and draw your own conclusions. Like I said, I'm not an expert and professional authentication is required for this coin. Based on the pictures, I have doubts.

 

The dates on the dies back then were set by hand. So, it's entirely possible that not all of the 2's would look the same.

That said, I agree - this date looks altered. I'd attempt to get it slabbed, and if it doesn't came back as genuine, have a chat with that SF dealer about getting a refund.

20+ years is a long time to wait to get an expert opinion, but if s/he's reputable, they'll stand by their transaction and make it right.