Hello Everyone! I purchased this coin about a year ago from another web site. It was listed for about $50 for awhile. No one hit on it... so I think I ended up offering the person $25-$30 for it. I don't recall exactly. Anyhow, I didn't have ANY half cents, I love the old copper.... well... I got the bug, and went and purchased it for the lower of the prices. Now.. for those of you who want to scold me on purchasing a very low grade coin... I know.... I know.. you are right.... I promise... I'll do better in the future!:yes: So... I popped it into a new 2x2, and filed it away. About a week or so ago... was just browsing through my binder, updating my coins list... and my attention was drawn back to this coin. After looking up the prices on this coin (nuismedia).. I realized that there is 3 types of the 1805 1/2 cent.... Stemless small 5.... W/Stems Small 5.... W/Stems Large 5... The W/Stems small five seems to be the most valuable.... by a lot. I figured the coin deserved proper identification. So.. after examining the coin... I realized firstly that it has stems... Okay... Down to two varieties. I then went online to see what the small versus large 5 looks like... and I swear this looks like a small 5.... I know the pics are crappy (tried all I could do to get a good pic of this coin)... but was hoping that someone here might identify variety markings that give it a definitive small or large 5 even with a poor date? Under a loop, it really looks like a small 5 to me! Thoughts? Inputs? Thanks in advance!
BostonCoin, don't worry about purchasing a lower grade early copper coin. Yes, there are those that only appreciate MS grade coins, but I am not one of them. I spent some time with my copy of "American Half Cents" by Roger S. Cohen, Jr. but am unable to make a definative attribution from your pics. In hand can you tell if the 5 of the date is unusually small? All the 05's have a 5 that is smaller than the other digits, but one is especially small. Another key to examine is the T in CENT on the reverse. If the right foot of the T is present and touches the leaf to the right your coin is a Cohen-2 variety. If the right foot of T is covered by the leaf then look to the 5 in the date again, if the 5 touches the bust it is a Cohen-4 variety, if the 5 does not touch the bust it will be a Cohen-3 variety.
This is the large 5 w stems C-4. And there is no small 5 stemless. The stemless 1805 is a medium 5 not the small 5.
Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. Being unfamiliar with Half Cents, I was sure there was a "Variety" that would confirm which type of design this was. To answer PennyGuy's questions about the coin.... First.. is the T in Cent on the Reverse. The flower covers the foot: The five.... I tell you, in hand it's easier to see. I just can't get a darn good photo of it. This is what I found online for reference: My five... It really looks like the far left image.. with the seriff at the end... not touching the bust.... Lastly.. to Condor.. thank you as well. I've seen you post many many times on Coppers, and you are extremely well educated on this matter. Unless someone can provide me with alternate information, I will mark this coin as a C-4 as you indicated. Thanks for your help!
My "quick notes" on this type is that the small 5 is so small it looks almost like it could fit inside the 0 of the date.
In the pictures of the three 5's the middle one is not a small 5 that is the medium 5. There are four varieties of 1805 but only three obv dies. Both of the small 5 varieties use the same obv die.
