Over the last couple of years, and I have been a bit late to the party, I have come to really like the Caballito pesos. Mercifully a rather short series that at one time was rather bargain-priced but now is gettin hit with burgeoning prices and especially so for coins that are truly uncirculated. Let's not go there with the pattern Pillet pieces that seem to now reach 50,000 USD!! Anyway, I got the Schein book which I highly recommend if a bit expensive for a paperback. Even his book does not seem to make differentiation or value differences in what I like to think of as "full head" and struck-up Libertad. Many higher grade pieces are not fully struck up and to me at least lose out on aesthetics accordingly. So I got one piece, a non-overdate 1913 which is one of the common dates, and bought it about 2 years ago raw for EF-AU money. On receipt, I was very happy at the strike and quality of Ms. Libertad which appears to have nearly a full head as one of the features and is clearly nicer than other pieces that I have - one of which is a 1912 graded 65 by PCGS. That coin has superior luster but is not struck up as well. So I began to look at Libertads of all dates and seem to be seeing that FH coins are quite scarce with perhaps the 1913 the date most often struck up more nicely. Do readers have any opinions with regards to this issue? My nearly full head example:
Beautiful coins and you're right as they have become pricey for sure. Unfortunately, I sold mine years ago and I'm out of the loop, especially about the FH business as I had never gotten into them that much. Hopefully someone will chime in who knows the series!
The Schein book should provide the best guidance on this question. You could even contact him yourself, since I believe he makes that offer in the book and lists his email address. If you do, please report back here what he says. I don't think that the "full head" designation has become official yet, but it definitely plays into the overall grade of the coin. At least, it should. I purchased a Caballito a few years back, shown below in a photograph that really needs a re-do (I think the color balance went out of whack). NGC graded this one, another 1913, as AU 55. It seems to have a decent amount of the head, but I'm not completely sure if anyone would call this a "full head."
Seems like some coins become popularly hunted for, and noted on slabs, etc., as to full strikes. Other series not so much so. Still, in these series astute collectors search out full strikes as part of their criteria and probably often buy a superior coin for no premium.
Yes indeed I agree. On this series the aesthetic appeal is I believe enhanced by a full libertad and the lovely graininess in the Caballito/horse head and neck. When accompanied by excellent luster it becomes IMO a superb crown.
