Do you all think this is natural toning? Or would you call it corrosion? It certainly looks different than the (rainbow) toning I see on Morgan Dollars. Is this coloration a positive or negative? (Also just a beginners question ... why did they call these half-dimes and not five cent pieces ... after all it's marked with a "5 c." on the back and not "half-dime" ... in that light, they could have called it a "one-fifth quarter" ... i know the term nickel was coined after 1866 because they started using the nickel metal on shield nickels) Thanks for any input!
Since the Half Dime was made of silver and not nickel, and it was about half the size of a dime and half the value of a dime, it was called a Half Dime. By the way, nickels weren't called nickels in the beginning. Suprisingly, Cents were, so the term "a nickel" was coined even before 1866.
Originally they were half disme, actually. Disme became dime. Half dime usually is used nowadays to denote the small silver coins as opposed to 5 cent pieces, which we assume is a nickel. Also true, a nickel in 1857 was a one cent piece, since they had added nickel to cents when they reduced the size. The nickel in the alloy was supposed to make up for the fact they were so much smaller, as nickel is a much more expensive metal than copper. Since they took nickel out of cents a few years later, but the main nickel miner still had lots of pull in Congress, they changed the composition of the 5 cent piece to contain nickel, (after making a nickel 3 cent piece of course.) I do not see anything unusual in the toning. I would be wary, though, since many old toned coins are really RETONED coins, having been cleaned earlieer in their existence. Looking under a microscope would help see any hairline scratches.
Looks natural. As for the name, before thise series neither the dime or the half dime had the denomination on them at all. When the coins were first described in the Act of April 1792 they listed the dollar, the half dollar the quarter dollar, The next coin was the disme which is based on the latin worth for tenth. The next coin weight one half that of the disme an became the half disme. It also made sense to kep the name similar because it was a silver coin, not a base metal coins as in the next two listed. True on the capped bust series they are marked 5C, but on the next and final series they are once again called, and this time clearly labeled, half dime. So a better question would be "Why were these marked 5C when they were half dimes?"
It's a positive. I think it's natural. There does appear to be some pitting. There's a small amount of pebbly texture in the fields above and to the right of Liberty. My guess is it's post-mint damage, but not too bad. Overall, probably a nice coin in hand. Looks like an XF.
I collect Capped Bust half dimes. I believe the toning on yours is natural. For some reason a LOT of this series is toned this way. Nice coin.
I find capped bust half dimes this way frequently. That is why I used to buy up nice AU/BU examples when I found them. They really are outstanding looking when higher grade. I believe the presses just were able to really fully strike them due to the small size, as opposed to halves which are frequently softly struck in areas. I do not even think I own a non fully struck bust half dime.
Yes, it's true; even though this coin has a little wear, the stars have nice detail, all the way into the center. Rare indeed is the CB 50c with full strike all the way into the center of all 13 stars ! Eagle's talons look well struck with only a touch of wear - another soft strike area on halves. I would agree that the h10c tend to come fairly well struck.
Hmmm. I think have seen this coin before. Hmmm. The toning appears natural, but secondary, and I'd probably call (and value) it as QT -- not something I would pay a terrible toning premium on -- and PCGS would slab it problem-free. It appears to be a nice coin that I would have no problem owning -- it is attractive to me.
