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Message:: [QUOTE="Hobo, post: 412272, member: 11521"]The 1838-O Capped Bust Half Dollar was the first branch mint half dollar and is the lowest mintage of all CBHs with a reported mintage of 20 coins. In Fine condition this coin Grey Sheets at $160,000.  The 1838 Philadelphia CBH had a mintage of 3,546,000 and in Fine condition Grey Sheets at $65. The incentive to alter a genuine 1838 CBH to an 1838-O has existed for a long time (probably since 1893 when coin collectors first took notice of mintmarks).  I have an example of such an altered coin. It is a poor fake that should not fool anyone (especially someone willing to pluck down big bucks for a great rarity). Someone created the 'O' mintmark on the obverse of the coin by carving down into the coin and leaving a "raised" mintmark that any beginning collector could spot.  OK, perhaps whoever created this fake never intended to fool anyone. Maybe he just wanted to fill a hole in his coin folder. And he did not destroy an especially valuable coin; the host coin already had a hole that has been poorly repaired. It is still an interesting piece.  Enjoy![/QUOTE]