1839-O Half Dime - Major Die Rotation

I was just curious on what everyone thought about this. I got this half dime in a lot and flipped it over north to south and the reverse is upside down and is at a slant as well. Almost a full rotation. If it's of course flipped west to east it shows the reverse right side up but also still at a slant. Too bad it isn't in better condition. How much do you think something like this would be worth and if I sent it in do you think it would change the value much? I've had die rotation errors before but never something that's View attachment 1688039 View attachment 1688040 almost a complete 360. What do you think the alignment (degrees) is on this? I need to order a die rotation measure. I've added pictures. The last picture is with it being flipped vertically. It's the best I could do, sorry.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I used an online measure at forvm ancient coins and its showing it is off by 210-220 percent.

 

Nice one Bone Dust! Have you checked to see if that is a variety/die pairing?
Hey, flatten those staples.

 

Cool coin! Get a Flat clinch stapler so Pickin and Grinin can sleep tonight.

 

We wouldn't want that, right?

 

You don't want me to sleep?

 

That depends on whether you measure the Die Rotation clockwise or counter-clockwise. Actually the largest rotation a coin can exhibit is 180 degrees.

 

I'll check on that. I threw it in the flip and stapled it fast just to show how i was flipping it.

 

Ahh yeah. I meant 40 degrees then as i flipped it top to bottom instead of left to right last time. Or maybe i'm just not doing it right at all as I rarely come into contact with this sort of error. This is only the third time. And 40 is the opposite of 220.

 

Hehe. I took it out of the flip and put it in a plastic one so I could easily take it out if needed. Don't worry, it is safe and will be under my pillow while I sleep.

 

I did have one but it broke. I need to order a new one online. Maybe I'll just do that now.

 

I looked into the die pairing but the reverse is so weak that it's hard to distinguish anything. Are there any references online I would be able to go too? I haven't found any.

 

I am not really a seated guy.
There is this site.
The Definitive Resource For Liberty Seated Dime Variety Collectors
Liberty Seated Half Dimes With Varieties, Business Strikes
I think that @Publius2 collects these.

 

Thanks for the information. I'll look into it.

UPDATE: I contacted Gerry at the site and gave him much more updated pictures along with ones using my scope. Hopefully he can give me more information on this and maybe, just maybe, it'll be added to the list.

 

I have added more attachments with perhaps better pictures.

 

Update. I ordered coin rotation measurement tool from ebay and when flipping the coin from left to right it shows the rotation at approx 150 degrees.

 

Questions are: How common are these on this coin for the "era" we are talking about and two,: Which die is rotated? Working die or stationary one?

 

Assuming the pictures were imaged squarely and the coin was flipped 180 degrees and assuming the lines I drew on the pictures would be parallel if the coin dies were properly aligned I come up with just slightly greater than 34 degrees rotation.

 

Thank you! So I was close the first time with the 40 degrees then. Anyways, I just learned how to use one of these with your answer. I wasn't accounting for the natural 180 degree angle before. BTW I like how you showed that.

 

I got a reply about the die pairing of the half-dime. Here it is:

Gerry forwarded your rotated half dime email to me, as seated half dimes are my specialty.

Your coin is the V-3A die pair, which is a common rotated die for 1839-o.
I believe I can also see the RPD 1 South on your coin, even in low grade.
You might be able to see the RPD 9 South as well.

It is a relatively common die variety.
There are usually a few available in low grades on ebay.

If you'd like to learn more about seated half dime die pairs for 1839-o and other dates,
you can check out my web page, which has free viewable or downloadable PDF files:
https://sites.google.com/view/clintcummins/half-dime-attribution-guide

Sincerely,

Clint

-------------------------------------------


Well, at least we know what variety/pairing it is. Even though it's common, I was just surprised I found it.