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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;CBJesse, post: 2214639, member: 40089&quot;]Although I don&#039;t have extensive experience in early dollars, in looking through the literature and past sales, your example appears to be an exceptionally late die tate of this die marriage (perhaps even the terminal die state).</p><p><br /></p><p>The only further classification beyond the die marriage identifiers (B-23, BB-159), would be the die states identified in the reference books on the subject. In the book by Jules Reiver, on page 74, the latest die state is Die State c, described as having &quot;heavy cracks around and over bust&quot;. In the Bowers book on the subject, page 131, it would be at least die state III (the latest identified), though even this seems too early, mentioning only clash marks, a &quot;crack from star 9 to border; [and] delicate, curved cracks in left obverse field [which] begin at star 4 and at star 7&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>As to the rarity of this die marriage in such an advanced state, the Heritage archives show only one coin of this die marriage, out of 85 sold, showing the arcing die crack across the bust: <a href="http://coins.ha.com/itm/early-dollars/silver-and-related-dollars/1799-1-8x5-stars-b-23-bb-159-r3-vf25-pcgs/a/1219-4774.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://coins.ha.com/itm/early-dollars/silver-and-related-dollars/1799-1-8x5-stars-b-23-bb-159-r3-vf25-pcgs/a/1219-4774.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515" rel="nofollow">http://coins.ha.com/itm/early-dollars/silver-and-related-dollars/1799-1-8x5-stars-b-23-bb-159-r3-vf25-pcgs/a/1219-4774.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515</a>. The die crack is still not as advanced as yours. It should be noted that even though this coin is in what appears to be a rare die state, it sold for a price similar to those in the same grade range. This is presumably due to the scarcity of numismatists who collect Bust Dollar by die marriage, much less by die state.</p><p><br /></p><p>I found two other past sales with mention of such an extreme arcing crack. One is noted in the Bowers condition census, as follows: <b>French Specimen. MS-60</b>. Stack&#039;s, 1989: 226. &quot;Brilliant Unc. Frosty and satiny, with iridescent and russet toning. The terminal state of the die, with an arc-like crack from star 1 across neck to below star 13, resulting in massive bulging of the die.&quot; The other, from the Dr. Hesselgesser Collection (one of the finest early dollar collections of all time) sold in a Goldberg sale (#65, lot 5086), described as Terminal Die State (perhaps a bit later than yours). Once again, it does not appear to have drawn much of a premium, selling for $2,990 in PCGS VF-30.</p><p><br /></p><p>In summation, my admittedly inexperienced opinion would be that the coin looks to be quite scarce with the large, arcing crack across the bust, though it does not seem that it would merit a large premium, if at all, neither detracting nor adding much in most bidders eyes. Some may prefer a perfect die state, while the avid Bust Dollar die state collector may prefer it in this near-terminal die state.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve added a link to the picture of the above mentioned Hesselgesser coin for your comparison.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/search1c.php?sale=65&amp;item=185407" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/search1c.php?sale=65&amp;item=185407" rel="nofollow">http://images.goldbergauctions.com/php/search1c.php?sale=65&amp;item=185407</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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