Help with my 1838 quarter

Can anyone help me grade this coin? I am a newbie to this hobby and this is one of my first coins. Thanks.

 

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BTW, it's not a quarter it's a half dollar... Looks like it might have some rim damage, but even with that I'd have no problem giving it a MS-63 grade.

Take Care and Welcome to the forum
Ben

 

bone, that is a small retained cud @ 5:00 (if that is what you were referring to).

I would give it an AU with the typical soft strike and the puncture mark behind the lower curls but, the reverse cracks on the periphery are great.

 

here is a link to Jules Reiver's "Manual for United States half Dollars 1836-1839" it is difficult to use and there are not many reference photos but, you may find interest in it. There is someone in the works of obtaining the permission to synthesize the material into a single .pdf format file that will be a little more user friendly.

http://images.heritagecoin.com/images/hnai/reiver/page_01.htm

 

i hate to say this because i really dont know a lot about these coins but i think it is a fake. on the obverse the stars between 4:00 and 9:00 are not complete however there is no evidence of wear in those areas. the rim damage at 5:00 looks like a casting mark and the subsequent depressions above and to the left look like casting mold damage. also on the reverse the letters D S and F arent as full as the rest like the stars there wasnt enough metal to fill these areas or the metal cooled too much when pouring to fill these areas. again i could be wrong but i dont know. thanks for listening.

 

Yes, I have an 1833 with almost the same (some called it a lamination error) cud.

 

Wow ! That's one of your first coins ? Nice !

Sure does look mint state to me. Excellent detail to the hair, feathers... very nice. I don't think MS63 is too outrageous.

Unless that's wear on the drapery front of the bust. Since everything else looks so good, I'm assuming that's weak strike or die issues.

Keep an eye out for one with an "O" between the bust and "1838". :kewl:

 

welcome!

 

What about the circular "mark" on the reverse, running clockwise from the "L" in HALF to the "A" in AMERICA? That's the longest running die break I've ever seen. Therefore, I too think this is a fake (someone called something like this a S.P.Y. in another post?).

Ribbit :smile:smile

 

I've never seen one that ran that long or so "perfectly" circular. The ones I've seen are usually gagged somewhat. However if it is authentic then the Ole Boner should know all about it from this date. I await his input (or anyone else) on what's known about this die crack occurring during this mint year.

Ribbit

ps: I said die break on my original post but meant die crack. I couldn't remember what it was called. Thanks for correcting that for me. :hail:

 

Examining the coin even closer I find a problem with the reverse. Notice the depth of the strike? If the coin was struck that deep, I would think the lettering on that side would be strong and crisp like most of it is, but a few letters are extremely weak.

The other problem, which is more serious, is the edge. The Old Boner showed us one earlier with lettering on the edge but in 1838 they didn't letter the edge (or so CoinFacts.com says) they reeded it. This coin does not exhibit a reeded edge but rather, a nice smooth edge like the earlier lettered edge coins have.

Ribbit :smile

 

^^^ He hasn't shown a picture of the edge. How do you know it's smooth and not reeded?

Take Care
Ben

 

Those stars are merely weakly struck, something that is not especially uncommon. And the area at the obverse rim at 5:00 has already been explained correctly. I see nothing, whatsoever, to make me question the authenticity of the coin. Grade-wise, all I can tell from the images is that it looks like a high grade AU or better.

 

Here is the edge......I really appreciate all of the help, I guess when I called this coin a quarter I was having a senior moment.

 

Chuckle, that's Okay. Looks pretty good from waay over here in South Dakota. Very nice looking coin...

Take Care
Ben

 

I would also label your 1833 as lamination as well. The difference between your 1833 lamination and the OP's retained cud is the fact that the 1838 JR-7 (which Reiver has given an R6 rarity...more on this later) is documented to have a small fissure in the die that leads to a retained cud (as the piece in this thread) and finally forms a full cud in it's terminal stage. I know of no other 1833s that display the abnormality that is present on your 1833, that is why I believe it to a planchet error or cause by striking a planchet that was punched last at the end of the strip.

Edit to add: Being stuck w/o a collar almost eliminates the chances of the 1833 having a "cud". While the RE halves being struck in collars greatly increases the likelihood of a cud even if other examples of the JR-7 were not documented.

As for the rarity ratings given to RE halves. They are inaccurate at best...There are very few collectors who assemble collections by die marriage and even less information (census) published regarding this short lived series. Most of the current and accurate information on RE halves must be obtained from the few collectors that focus on RE 50c by marriage.

 

ok i thank you for proving me wrong. like i said i dont know much about this particular series. and didnt consider a weak strike because the higher points dont exhibit a weak strike. but i will bow to your experience and change my opinion and say very nice coin.

 

It sure looked like a smooth edge to me on the obverse picture in the 3 o'clock region. I guess that's the coin's rim?

If it is real, AWESOME coin!

Ribbit

 

I don't see anything that makes me think it's not real.
Nice coin.