30.9mm 1842 seated half dollar

Hey guys! Just tried joining CT but having issues with email verification.

I've been sorting through my old coin collection and was measuring specs on them.

I noticed the 1842 was a fair amount bigger in diameter than expected at 30.9mm versus 30.6mm. Weighs 13.2 grams, thickness 1.95mm.

Is this within mint tolerances, or is something off here?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

 

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All I can say is it looks like a normal old coin to me.

 

Same here, other than the OD!

 

Looks normal to me. Welcome to CT.

 

Thank you!

 

This looks like the 1842 Medium Date, Large Letters variety. It was struck in a closed collar so it's diameter should be close to the listed 30.6 mm. Did you measure the diameter with a vernier or dial caliper or a micrometer? I think at 0.3 mm larger, your coin needs some additional inspection. I suggest you weigh it and also apply a "ring" test.

 

I have a Starrett dial caliper I use for measurements, so accuracy shouldn't be an issue. Weight is 13.2 grams and it has a nice silver ring to it! Spec weight is 13.36g.

 

I don't have any other seated halves to compare with, but the rim outside of the denticles looks wider than other half dollars.

 

The 1842 has 145 reeds. Laborious as it is, you might want to count and compare.

You can also download for free Bill Bugert's book on Philadelphia half dollars from this site:

www.lsccweb.org.

Click on the Education and Resources tab and then On Line Resources.

Here's a page from that book with Bill's discovered range of diameters including the 1842. The largest Bill measured for the 1842 was 1.218 inches which converts to 30.93 mm which is slightly larger than your coin.

 

Excellent information and very interesting, thank you!

 

I measured the diameter again, this time around every 45 degrees, it varied between 30.90mm and 30.92mm.