I just submitted this to the problem coin thread (Due to the scratches on the reverse). After comparing it to others and looking at what appears to be metal flow shadows (I'm guessing at this). Does this Bust Half appear to be just weakly struck or is something else going on? It does not appear to have any of the denticles on the obverse or reverse. But the edge lettering is there albeit a bit weak looking. This is my first Capped Bust coin I have purchased.
Looks like a combination of a weak strike which is quite common for Bust halves , and wear . Also looks like it might have been cleaned . Congrats on your 1st Busty , if you're like most of us that collect these great coins you'll soon have many more . Is that a scan ? I ask because the surface looks grainy to me .
It's a photo taken without a macro lens with a single light source. So the image is cropped and at 100% of it's available resolution, hence it's digital noise in the 1/20th of a second exposure. Looking at the surface under 10X magnification the coin looks fine. No graininess. The only thing is the flow lines in the silver out towards the stars on the obverse and it can also be seen on the reverse.
I picked her up for $30.00. I thought it was a pretty good deal. The dealer also had a Draped Bust Half which I think I recall being an 1807 with pretty heavy wear and what he had marked on the 2x2 as "Plating" (Not sure what that meant), but it was marked at $50.00 I believe. I'm considering going back tomorrow to possibly pick it up as well. The Capped Bust Half was originally marked $40.00, so I'm hoping he will be as flexible on the price for the Draped Bust.
To me it screams "abrasively cleaned". Also a late die state. Note how the stars and letters reach out to the rim and the metal flow lines in between the stars and letters and the rim.
I think the dealer thought is was cleaned and damaged for the price. Still at $30 I do not think it was a bad deal. Now from the pictures it looks like hairline and the scratches - so I think cleaned, but would want to see it in hand. Have fun... PS - now you are hooked. You should look for a nice PCGS(or ngc) F to VF example to see what they look like. Next thing you need to do is learn how to attribute them and get the overton number.
Something doesn't look right to me. Since, the dentils are missing and without coin in hand I'll say O-141. I am so glad I bought a book on die marriages. I probably would not have bought that coin. Even for $30, which is a good deal.
Welcome to the wonderful world of busties. A word of warning... THEY'RE ADDICTIVE! As Gronnh20 says above your coin is a later die state example of O-141. The reason that you don't see any denticles is because of die erosion, not a weak strike. By the time your coin was struck the denticles were simply no longer present on the dies. Although cleaned and scratched for 30 bucks you got a reasonably good deal.
Thanks everyone for chiming in. I wish I had a better lens for taking photos of my coins. I'll try taking some photo's of it with my phone at different angles. I totally get what you are referring to about it appearing cleaned. There are a few small scratches across the high points, but the fields in hand appear to look like normal wear. I'll see what I can do about getting some better photos to show the surface. But your right!! I've been bitten by the bug now. The Bust Bug is pretty bad. Like I said earlier, I think I'm returning today to take a look at that Draped Bust Half he still had.
OK, She has been cleaned. Here are some close ups to see. Thank you guys for your opinions. I really do appreciate them.
Looks like a cleaned and scratched VF. Still a nice looking coin with some good detail left, and I agree with others that $30 sounds pretty good.
I would have bought her for $30 just to give her a home , plus I'm addicted to these things . Now like Mark said you need to get the Parsley book for Overton #s .
PET PEAVE ALERT The Overton book, not the Parsley book. Don edited the last couple of editions of his father-in-law's work. He didn't write it. At most, he deserves 2nd authorship billing.
Haha!! Yeah, I put or best offer. I figured if she sells, I'll try to move up to a better conditioned one. If not, she'll have a nice home here..
I wen't back to look at the Draped Bust Half (or so I thought it was). It turned out what it was is a silver plated large cent. An 1803. Some of the plating was worn off. Looks like somebody back in the day was trying to turn 1 cent into 50 cents.. I passed on it.
