GTG: 1834 half dime

Although AU50/45 was the consensus I think the originality was the factor. This one must be nice in hand.

 

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Boy! I shot myself in the foot with this one.

 

@bikergeek, with respect, the OP's coin is the LM-4 die marriage, Obverse 3 and Reverse Z, Rarity 1. I'm only collecting these by Red Book Variety so I really respect your ambitious goal of die marriage collecting this fascinating set.

After the grade reveal and the research below, I must say that my prior EF-45 grade is wrong and TPG grade of AU-53 is closer to reality. I make this correction after analyzing the attribution and die state as noted below-something I did not do before I gave my initial grade.

Attribution
Reverse Z is used for both LM-4 and LM-5. But it is Reverse Z's first use in LM-4 and third use in LM-5. The OP's coin is much closer to a die state of the first or second use as opposed to a terminal use die state, IMO.

On the obverse, this is the only use of Obverse 3. All the markers point to LM-4/Obv 3 and none to LM-5/Obv 2. For example: S8 on Obv 2 nearly touches cap. S8 on Obv 3 is equidistant between cap and dentils.

Die State
The OPs coin is a middle to early-late die state.

On the obverse, you can see a die crack has developed from the rim left of the date, through the bust, into field to throat. On later die states, this crack extends up further through the cap to the rim. I don't see that later development on this coin. This middle die state could explain some of the mushiness on the obverse and why some of the stars, hair curls and drapery across the bust are not fully struck up. This die crack is characteristic of Obverse 3 but not Obverse 2.

On the reverse, as stated earlier the right diagonal of M has diminished due to lapping. Die lapping can be seen at the berries. The N has partially filled due to die failure/erosion. Eagle's talons, feathers and arrowheads are fairly strong but wing and neck feathers are not fully struck up.

So much of what we see on the OP's coin is due to heavy use of the dies and not wear. There were five die marriages this year and 1,480,000 coins struck with the LM-2 and LM-4 being the only R-1s. This implies that these dies struck a lot of coins and were heavily life-extended.

 

@Publius2 is absolutely correct, and it's an easy identification to make. I don't know how I bungled that one, since that is one of the very common ones! My only excuse excuse is that I'm working on a spreadsheet tool that helps me look for key pickup points on the reverses, and i appear to have introduced a flaw in it! I failed to note the easiest pickup on the obverse (star 7 to top of headband). Once having misattributed I went right to the book and rattled off a few facts.

I attribute very carefully before I buy a coin, and it's only fair that I do better when sharing information with others. I stand corrected and appreciate Publius2's post!