I just purchased an album for my large cents and need to find information about varieties. Since I am a novice with these coins I am lost when it comes to differentiating between "large" and "small" letters, stars, etc. I have found plenty of sites that show images but none that really explain how to tell the difference. Any thoughts?
You should get a good reference book. A mainstay for collectors of Large Cents is Penny Whimsy by Sheldon. You can get a copy from Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Whimsy-William-H-Sheldon/dp/0942666623
Absolutely ! In addition to the classic Penny Whimsy mentioned by Hobo (which covers only Early Dates), consider these : Early Dates (1793-1814) - Encyclopedia of Early United States Cents 1793 - 1814 by Walter Breen Middle Dates (aka Matron or Coronet, 1816-1839) - The Cent Book by John Wright Late Dates (aka Braided Hair 1840-1857) - United States Cents by Bob Grellman
Thought I would post up a newp... slab has smudge on the back below CENT, but otherwise a decent image. I haven't attributed it. If someone would like to take a shot, please do. I'll try to "git 'er done" tonite.
Some great reference books on Large cents have been noted. Let me add, take a look at joining Early American Coppers, EAC (http://www.eacs.org/), it will lead you to a wealth of information about old coppers, as well as nice discounts on those books you need.
Get a red book also - it will show pictures of the varieties. I would also use heritage for pictures - but get the book first. I agree with the recommendations. I use United States Copper cents by Newcomb but I hear the Wright book is better. I have found that the newcomb book combined with the grellman book to be easier to attribute the later date cents. My personal opinion - if you are just doing a dansco type album you could probably get by with just a red book but it will make it much easier if you get the books. The problem will be people using 1847 N-2 to sell a coin - you would be able to look up the variety. Plus even with pictures sometimes it is hard to recognize the difference. Learning from the books will make it much easier - plus you might be able to cherry pick some of the varieties. Which album did you get? My dansco album has 1834 incorrect. I would have to check it again(but one of the varieties is really tough and expensive) to see what it has listed. I also don't think it included all of the varieties I would include. At the end of my book you see the 1810/9 and 1817 15 Stars. Probably have a couple of others I need to add into the book(like 1807/6). See below for my album pictures. Just an average guy set.
PS - also note that if you got a dansco album you will probably have to create your own spaces. What I do is take a piece from the inside of an airtite holder, cut it up, put it in the album, then slide the coin in. It holds them nicely in my opinion.
Thanks, bro. I'm kinda glad it didn't get RB - the same coin would be more expensive. This one appears to be N-19, r.2 . There are diagnostics die lines east of Y and behind the main curl. Date numeral grids match up (close enough), so I think we're good on this one.
I can't tell for sure if it is N-19 or N-(21) (Late dates can be VERY difficult to attribute from photos.) I am leaning toward N-19 but I don't see the repunching at the top of 856. For the early and middle dates pictures of most of the varieties can be seen on the Coinfacts website. In addition to the books mentioned there are also some VERY good auction catalogs as well. The Dan Holmes sales or the Ted Naftzger sales are excellent (and visible online at the Goldberg's auction website) The Holmes catalogs have GOOD pictures of ALL of the varieties and the Naftzger's have most of the varieties. The downside is the catalogs do not list the diagnostics for each variety. My favorite for that is either the Superior Galleries 1986 Robinson S Brown Sale or the 1989 Jack Robinson sale. All the Sheldon numbers, many of the NC numbers, almost all of the Newcomb numbers with every coin pictured and the diagnostics of each variety given. Those two catalogs are attribution guides in their own right and if you can find copies they'll cost in the neighborhood of $25. The down side is the printing technology a quarter century ago was not up to today's standard. The pictures are decent quality but actual size, and the resolution while good for the time is blown away by the pictures in today's catalogs. (I use my copies of both of them frequently, I slightly prefer the 1986 sale, and I have spare copies of them because I use them until they are falling apart. I got them back when the sales were still upcoming and I have been using them even since. After 24 years use they are just a stack of individual pages now.)
Another nice thing is the EAC site is that its links will take you to some extremely reputable large cent dealers along with some sites that show many of the hundreds of die varieties. mark_h makes a good point about the Red Book. It's a good place to start. Another item to get is Copper Quotes by Robinson. This gives pricing for half cents and large cents based on EAC grading (which is more conservative and consistent than current (and inflating) market grading)
Yes, Mark H...that's the same book I have. (although much emptier). I really appreciate all the input guys. Now, to start reading!
