I had to go out of town yesterday and lost this eBay bid while gone. It is labeled, and probably properly so, a S-242. My interest is stirred by the unusual spacing of the date and dentils. The top of the 1 is distant from the hairline and more distant from the dentils than other S-242s I've seen, with the closest being State I S-242s which have a little space between the hairline and the top of the 1. But looking at the reverse: reveals the strong die crack of either a late Die State II or even III. At this point, every 242 I've seen just touches the hair AND has full or nearly full dentils below the date. My initial impression is that this must be a new find pairing Obverse 13 with Reverse M, but a closer examination of the LIBERTY shows the point of the hair extending past the left upright of B as the S-242 (Obverse 14 also used on S-241) does, but no other 1802 does. The lower portion of the bust loop also is week and extends beyond the right side of the 2 eliminating Obverse 13. It has most of the elements of obverse 14, but does anyone have any idea why the spacing appears different? My only thoughts were either a very similar die, a refurbished die or polished die, or perhaps a foreign substance on the die like grease at the time of the striking.
