I found this one. I like it, but I can't find another to compare it to. Have not found another in the Heritage archives. Pretty neat. Does anyone know anything about reverse varieties in New Orleans 1840 halves, or can recommend where to find more information about them? DUK
Here you go, look for Chapter 6, Date by Date: https://www.davidlawrence.com/books/the-complete-guide-to-liberty-seated-half-dollars/ Apparently most of them (literally) were cracked.
Thank you, SuperDave. Ah, yes. and it's a WB 104, large mintmark. While they may often have cracked dies, this one seems to be "shattered" - really wide die crack lines. As I said, I can't find a picture of another with anywhere near the die crack lines in the heritage archives. It must be an extremely late die state!
Oh, you mean letters, not mintmark, don't you? I think all of the 1840's except the reverse of 38 are small letters. I think the reverse of 38 (O) is "medium letters). Again, from the Wiley and Bugert book the SuperDave linked: "the only common small letter reverse dates are the 1839 With-Drapery, 1840-P and 1840-0" As seen on davidlawrence.com | https://www.davidlawrence.com/books...ted-half-dollars/chapter-6/date-by-date/1840/
You have to infer the existence of later die states than you see in archived images, because the imaged coin's die was still in one piece. There are a few Large O reverse dies. A little diligence should match you up with earlier states of your own coin, perhaps one attributed with the die number. I don't really know what the variety collector base for these is like, but in some series this could be a fairly "important" coin if it's of a later die state than the ones known, as it extends what's known about the die pair's life.
I do not know if anyone sees this but for some reason teh angle fo teh neck of the reverse strikes me as off
I do not know if anyone sees this but for some reason teh angle fo teh neck of the reverse strikes me as off
Cool reverse die cracks! It reminds me of the 1811 dime's reverse die that was absolutely killed by the end of its service.
so far I've been limited to Heritage archives, but have found lots of interesting examples of WB-104 die pairs. No perfect match so far. The die cracks are pretty distinctive. Most of the high AU and MS examples are very poorly struck, only one seemed anywhere near as good a strike on the reverse (die pair #1) but even that one looks less well defined. Perhaps this was a reverse die that didn't last very long? I hesitate to tell you what the grade of the my coin is. It's in an older PCGS holder. Any guesses?
whoops! oh well. So we all know it's xf45 in an older PCGS holder. Reviewing other 45's, it's way better than every one I can find in terms of detail. Could it have been penalized for toning and/or die cracks?
Wait as minute; what coin are you asking for grades on? I thought you posted the slab in Post #13 because that was your coin; now I don't know where that slab fits into the thread at all, and it's what I was talking about. PCGS got your coin wrong by ten points if they called it 45. Your coin is, I think, being eaten alive by PVC from the looks of the green color, so within a year or two it'll be at 45 on the way down and disintegrating before your eyes.
Yes, you could be right about that. It's highly possible regarding the PVC. I posted the slabbed coins because of the strike difference as part of the discussion. Since they are both MS coins, it's wild how different the strikes are. DUK
I think the angle looks the same as my 1942: Maybe you're noticing the eagle's beak looks different (beginning 1942?):
I agree, the angle does look the same and Woah, the beak is different! thats cool, thanks for point that out. Nice color on your half dollar!
