Hey all, Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I updated our website pretty heavily. It includes 46 new varieties, 31 with photos, from the previous update. It also includes a lot of database and search enhancements on the back end, which I discuss on the homepage and in a video posted there. Some notable new varieties are: 1866 COL-001, RPD-005 - Check your 1866's for a cracked collar. I discuss this variety in more detail at the end of the new video on the site. Has anyone else ever seen a cracked collar on an IHC or FEC? 1888 MPD-020 - I found this a couple of months ago. Very exciting find with two MPDs, both in the field below the hair and bust. Arguably the nicest of all the 1888 MPD in the haircurl varieties. 1864 No-L RPD-010 - This looks very much like a Large 4 over Small 4. 1864 No-L ODD-004 - Reverse die dot, similar to the one from 1898 and 1883. I now have two of these in different die states, which shows the progressive development of the dot as a simple die chip. Initially, I was rather sure that a square-shaped chip couldn't be a product of deterioration and that an engraver marked the die. However, this important variety proves that reverse die dots - other than the one from 1875 - are most likely not intentional, but rather die deterioration. There are many cuds, die cracks, MPDs, RPDs, and another 1880 punch variety. Have a great weekend!
There are 1220 varieties in the database, so that is a question that is not easily answered. In theory, all die varieties should command at the least a very small premium. The overdates are the most desired of the FEC and IHC series. The off-centered and multi-denominational clashes are very desirable, too. All of the Top Varieties listed on the site are also very enticing. Of course, price is a factor of condition, rarity, and demand. The 1897 MPD with a 1 in the neck is one of the most desired varieties, but it is very common so it can be found with little premium and easily picked by someone who is patient. The most desired doubled die, on the other hand, is probably the 1873 DDO-001. It is much more rare, and is alluring to those who collect outside of the IHC series, so it commands a huge premium. Bisecting die cracks have received relatively little attention in the IHC series, compared to other series such as seated dimes, so I expect those to garner more interest in the future as we document them. Also, we are picking up on CUDs where Marvin and Margolis left off... at least in the IHC and FEC series. Cuds have always commanded a premium, but to my knowledge no one has attempted to catalogue all of them recently. A well developed CUD listing may spur more interest in those varieties and help provide a method to the madness. As for rusted dies, these should be stupendously desirable - but they are so rare and so few found, it would be hard to say where the market is on them right now. Probably very immature. The wider the repunched date, the further in the field the misplaced date, the larger the cud, the larger the die rust - the more extreme a variety is the more desirable it will be.
