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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ksparrow, post: 581043, member: 7638&quot;]On another thread, HT asked &quot;.. what else do you have squirreled away?&quot;&nbsp; Not much else, but I do have an interesting early half dollar. Here are my photos:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/1795halfsmallheadrev.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t277/cks2007/1795halfsmallheadobv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, the 1794 is very rare, and out of the reach of most collectors, including me. The 1795 is much more accessible for a type set. According to Breen, during the spring and summer of 1795, coining continued of 1795 dated halves, using 19 obverse and 22 or 23 reverse dies, for a total of nearly 300,000 pieces. Several different head and eagle device punches were used during the year, the final ones attributed to John Smith Gardner, briefly assistant Engraver. These were used on the Small Heads. These are identified by an extra line under the bust truncation, the shape of the lowest hair curl, and a dot on the reverse below the bow of the ribbon, thought to be Gardner&#039;s &quot;signature.&quot; Breen states that they are &#039;prohibitively rare&#039; in VF and above (an appellation which applies to almost anything from this era, where my wallet is concerned!) My Small Head resides in an NCS holder charitably labeled &#039;fine details&#039; (I think it&#039;s VG) &#039;cleaned.&#039; It does indeed have hairlines from an old, light cleaning. The marks on the reverse which look like scratches are planchet adjustment marks, from the filing down of the planchets to the correct weight before striking, by workers (usually women, according to Breen) in a special room wearing leather aprons.&nbsp; The holder does not note the variety, which is not in the Red Book, either.&nbsp; Harry Laibstain usually has several of these for sale at any given time. I am not sure of the attribution for this one (hint to bust half lovers with reference libraries!)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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