Went to the Portland WCC show looking for early copper and Bust/Seated coinage. Saw this half cent at the end of a dealer’s case for $125. This is a type I have wanted for a while. I offered $90 and took it home. It is the 1797 C-1, 1 Above 1 variety. Although this is a ground find the details are strong - I believe that this was a VF coin before it was dropped in the ground. The hair detail looks to be mostly there. Hope you enjoy this example of this scarce early type and my first half cent.
It does help that the 1797, 1 Above 1 has a narrower date than any other obverse die in the series. It's tough to see, but the date actually is faintly visible through the corrosion.
I have a hard time trusting any coin that has corrosion on the surfaces, I leave that to the folks that know the variety's.
The 1797 C-1 is the most common variety for the year. Part of the reason for that is that the mint pushed the dies to the limit. There are fair number of these coins known with missing details despite that the fact they grade VF or better. The variety is neat because it's a blundered die. The die maker, probably Robert Scott, punched in the "1" too high and saw the mistake. He punched in the rest of the numbers correctly. Note that he probably punched in some little tick marks above the "7"s to make sure he would get it right. Dare I post this? I have owned this one for over 30 years. I acquired it at a NENA (New England Numismatic Association) conference that was held in Boston in the 1980s. As I recall I traded a bunch of common date silver dollars for it.
Incredible coin! I see the die is starting to crack through the B in LIBERTY on your piece. Mine is a bit too corroded to tell die state, but it doesn't look like a late one.
