Anybody got any thoughts on this little piece of history? She's been locked away in a drawer for 50 years or so and looks like she was scrubbed to death. Did they really scrub the denticles off? Think it is the tall 5 variety, right?
I agree that it's the tall 5 variety (BD-1), and after comparing it to the following link, I think it is genuine. https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-varieties/half-eagles/1811-small-5-5-bd-2-3731/ It looks like it could be ex-jewelry, since I believe it looks tooled around the top of Liberty's head and around the 5 D. Still a really cool coin regardless of its flaws!
My first guesses were: -- misaligned dies (not parallel or whatever they call it) -- uneven thickness of the planchet
Ex-Jewelry piece is what I'm thinking as well. Probably had a loop attached at one time at the top of the obv.
She was found amongst my late father's things a few years ago. He owned a rural grocery store from 1966-1989. Probably purchased from a customer for spot whenever and whatever that was. Gonna sell the coin at some point and split $ with my siblings. What you think 3-4k?
It's always a special thing to find an early Half Eagle... Cleaned, scrubbed, or completely original - either way... a great find. They're not at all common when compared to late-date HEs. The denticles are weak to non-existent due to a combination of the strike not being centered on your coin, and also because of wear the coin received over the years. As someone already mentioned, mostly likely due to being mounted in a necklace bezel or other jewelry. Cleaned or scrubbed, it's a very historic and interesting piece. Here's a pic of my 1811 HE for comparison: 'dude
I also think the coin in the OP was probably in a mount at sometime. Still a phenomenal find, so many were melted down and any survivor is special. Finds like this should give us all hope! Always a pleasure to see some of C.Dude's gold, too.
