I had recently walked into a coin shop and saw a very nice, original 1809 Half Dollar that I'd grade VF-20 (dealer said F-15+). When asked how much he wanted, he said $200. I was hesitant to agree to that, so I passed and did some research on eBay. Turns out that the same coin in the same grade was selling consistently in the $90-130 range, much less than I had expected. So I did some exploring, and I found I could get an even nicer 1808 for about the same price. I have been wanting an 1807 or 1808 half dollar for a while due to the scrawny eagle on the reverse, and the coin overall has a cruder look reflective of the turbulent early days of the US mint. Then I found this one. She has some marks, a rim bump, and a few light scratches, but I felt she looked quite nice. There was a lot of detail in the eagle, which was a "must." The obverse detail (or rather the lack of it) was interesting to me as it was a a nice example of the strike problems that plagued the earlt capped bust halves. I had also been wanting a CBH that required grading from the reverse, and this one fit the bill. Lastly, my only CBH I own is certified (I don't feel safe cracking that beauty out), so there was an ugly hole in my type set even though I had the type. So, that pushed me overboard into buying this coin as it would be filling a hole (literally) as well as adding a sub-type to my collection (still need an 1825 to complete the trifecta). And the best part? She was only $100. Now enough reading. Here's my coin. I felt I would get a consensus of VF details in the grading forum, so I posted her here instead. I also have her at O-108 (R-3). Correct me if I'm wrong.
Nothing to disagree with here; these are known for weak strikes so what seems to be excessive "wear" on the obverse must be thought through. As is my habit, I attributed it before reading your opinion, and came up with O-108 as well. It's similar to O-103 - missing the serif on the 1 - but the left end of the scroll (D-E) is a major difference separating the two. Very well bought at $100, IMO. There is argument to be made whether these damages noted on a 208 year old well-worn coin should force a Details grade or not, and in no event are they major distractions.
She's a beauty for sure. I've always wanted to begin collecting the Bust series, but due to cost, I've avoided it. $100 seems quite reasonable for a 200+ year old coin! Out of curiosity, what's up with the 8 in the '08'? Seems funky shaped. Looks damaged, yet there appears to be no other damage in that area to indicate why it looks as it does. I quickly googled other images of the 1808 to see if it was normal, and yours looks quite different. Any thoughts? Is it just straight up damage? Someone bored at one time and just jammed tools at it?
No, simply die erosion. This die had struck a lot of coins before it got to this one. This is the same reason that several stars are stretched out towards the rim.
