1 is either a proof or a fake. Too sharply struck. 2 is beat to hell, so hard to tell whether it's real or not. Because of that, I'd guess that it...
Dannreuther and others found that ALL US gold coins from the beginning were struck in a close collar, and their edge reeding did not come from the...
I had my copy of Breen's Complete Encyclopedia rebound when it started coming apart. Since then, it's been fine, and it does get regular use. The...
Looks like a cleaned AU to me. Definite wear on the thigh and hair. I don't see any evidence of remaining luster. Probably a details grade if you...
Interesting question, but the answer would be a value judgment and so different for different people.
You can't prove a negative. The null hypothesis has to be that the Chief Engraver, Scot, designed the coins. If there is evidence that he did not,...
I never said Reich had no talent or that he deserved no credit for his designs. The Jefferson Inaugural medal, the Jefferson Peace medal, the...
He didn't like Robert Scot's work, either. Does anyone here think the Draped Bust design is "unsatisfactory" as Breen thought? (p. 169 of his...
It all depends on whether the books you're buying contribute to your enjoyment of your hobby. If they do, that's a good thing. If they give you...
MOST of what is in the book is good information. Unfortunately, unless you're a specialist in a particular series, you won't know what is good and...
Even I find the Braided Hair half cents uninteresting and unattractive. Liberty has no cheekbones. Gobrecht's worst work? And, of course, the...
Yes, but most are far more affordable than some things that are a lot more common, like a 1909-S VDB cent.
This is a very good idea. A number of dealers have large cent junk boxes for cheap prices, and you can get lots of middle and late dates for very...
"Lightly dipped" is like "slightly pregnant." A coin has either been dipped or it hasn't. I would bet that few early US silver coins exist that...
Deller's Darkener is sulfur ointment. Sulfur corrodes copper. DO NOT USE IT! It will destroy your coin eventually.
Yes, extremely worn die.
Some early coins, like the Wreath Cent above, can be attributed without a readable date. I have seen at least one Chain cent that is slick on...
That was the total mintage of 1794 dollars.
There is, of course, no way to know that. The last time it sold, it stalled around $5M, which is still a lot of money, and was jumped to an...
There are three distinctly different heads on Chain cents. They were all individually hand-engraved, and they do not match each other, so there is...
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