My First Bust Half

Yes.

Al Overton wrote The Book on early halves (1794 - 1836), and his name is where the "O" comes from in the attribution numbers. His relative Don Parsley (son in law ?) updated and revised his work and published the 4th edition. Highly recommended.

1827 is a difficult year to attribute due to the sheer number of die varieties; there were 28 obverse dies and 34 reverse dies used in various combinations, resulting in 49 die marriages.

If the OP coin is indeed an O-126, it is listed as rarity R.2 (fairly common).

 

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Well it arrived... and it's pretty ugly

 

I believe the coin is an O-126. That die break in the curl is the giveaway.

 

I would market grade this specimen XF. The attribution is something else.

 

Just as 900fine thought, thanks guys for your help. I took a bath on this one, and I should have learned my lesson long ago, study before impulse buying.

The Mohawk Hoard story is interesting, and the coin came with a neat video showing some of the coins being unearthed. Oddly all were bright and shiny with little or no corrosion in the video. What also struck me was that the two men unearthing them sure were well informed on the Bust Half.

Anyone venture a wild guess what this coin might bring if I sold it?

 

I would grade it XF details. If you hype it up properly on Ebay, there is no telling what it could go for. A reasonable value for it $75.

 

I think it's nice to get an AU details coin for a lower price than usual. It depends on the marks, but this coin is nice and the mark is not terribly distracting to me. I wouldn't get too caught up in the hype, but this is a nice coin if offered for a reasonable discount.