Here's Where My Fun & Frustration Begin

I have been working on a Capped Bust Dime set by LM variety (die marriage) for pushing 10 years.
A full set is 122 die marriages.
My criteria are:
-- the die marriage is identifiable.
-- the price is low.
Most of what I have (~75 of the die marriages) are circulated and raw.
And DETAILS coins are okay too.
I just have to be able to identify the coin and often that's not a trivial exercise.

While sitting around waiting for the pandemic to wind down I surfed eBay to see if I could find one that I could ID and needed.

Here's what I came up with.
I ID'ed it as an 1835 LM-2 and graded it as F-12.
IF I'm right it's a better one being rated R-4.

 

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I concur with 1835 LM-2, and the Federal Half Dimes book also lists it as R4. I don’t know if the rarity rating has changed since the book came out, but at least it does appear to be a scarcer die marriage.

 

Large date and large 5C and yes i agree on the F-12 .
As for the rest it will take me a few.... and if we still had everythinghalfdimes.com the answer would of been in the first sentence.
God I miss that site...

 

Paddy, jump in your way-back machine and hit the internet archive.
https://web.archive.org/web/2018040...hinghalfdimes.com/attribute-my-half-dime.html

 

I need to update my link to that. Thanks for posting.

 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I just sat down to start ID'ing or confirming the ID's on my Capped Bust Half Dimes.
Since I have something like 75 of them I'm hoping the site shortens the process.

 

Thanks for the link.

 

Wow.......really wow!!!! Omg wow......well I'll be dipped in buttermilk.....wow!.

@Nathan401 get your butt in here we'll back in the saddle again..... ye ha....

 

Sherman set the way back machine to 1829 the US Mint Phillidelphia Pa.
Today they are striking half dimes..... and let the fun begin.....

 

Yessss! I’ve been gnashing my teeth (what ones are left) since this site disappeared. Thanks SO much for your clue.
Kanga: It definitely will.

 

So far I've ID'ed two (not counting the 1835 that started this post).

The first one took about 10-15 minutes, but it was worth it.
It's an 1829 LM-11; PCGS straight graded it AU-50.
It's an R-6.
I should have quit at that point.

The second one took about 45 minutes (my eyes will take time to recover).
It's an 1829 LM-16.2; ANACS graded it AU-50, damaged-cleaned.
It's an R-2.

That's enough for now.

 

Kanga: hey, it gets easier with only a bit of practice — I promise! To be sure, the system’s design is a bit — shall we say, ideosyncratic — but maybe that’s part of the challenge...

 

But you know you love it.....

 

Right!

 

HAHA FANTASTIC! Made my day!

 

Is this an achievable goal? Or are there showstopping rarities? For example, in the Bust Half series, there are some that are unique or only 2 or 3 known.

Having 75 of the 122 is already an impressive accomplishment!

 

R4 is good.

 

Yep, there are a number of show-stoppers, at least based on the 1998 information I have available.

There is one rated R-8 (1-3 estimated).
There are six rated R-7 (4-12 estimated).
There are three rated R-6 (13-30 estimated).

I've got the easy part done.
I've ID'ed the 34 I have in slabs (6 are in DETAILS slabs).
Now I have to deal with the raw ones many of which are in the lower grades.
I don't want to have to deal with the pandemic anymore nor do I want another in the future, but it sure gives me the time to do things like this which are WAY overdue to be done.

The last beer I had was late February!

 

I sat down this morning with a coffee and the loop.
I agree would much rather be doing something else....but else could be a mistake.
I personally like doing the search....and finding the clues that lead you to a match.
Some are quite difficult as the difference can easy be missed.
Others need to understand also even the detail or worn coins aren't cheap.....
If you're able to find them at a show. A $100. Bucks gets you a fairly nice coin with details...but for above an F. Grade you'll need to pony up.
I did buy a detailed 1829 that was like an R-5 But again paid about $45/50 for that one.

 

Well, I think I've got the statistics for my Capped Bust half dime set correct.
Number of Different Die Marriages: 126
Number of Die Marriages I have: 72
Number of coins I have: 86 (in other words, 14 duplicates)

What I'm seeing from Stack's, Heritage, Great Collections and eBay:
-- High grade slabbed coins (AU and MS) are too pricey for me
-- Lower grade slabbed coins are overpriced (IMO)
-- Raw coins (eBay) are overpriced or unidentifiable.

So I'll pack up what I have, shove them back into the safe deposit box at the bank and examine prices again in a year or so.