My first half cent

I like both the halves...half-cents and half-dimes

 

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I checked back and 2 C-5s were in the search because 1/2 C 9 over 9 met the search parameters.

I have to guess on the variety numbers when I don't have the literature like Cohen and Overton. I have the Newcomb numbers and both Noyes 6 Volume Set and The Cent Book as well as Breen's Early Large Cent Encyclopedia and Penny Whimsy.

I use the Heritage Archives for comparables they have identified, but they don't always have a sale of every variety in their database.

 

Looks like a 1809 C-4 Reverse. I see nothing inconsistent with the obverse to indicate it isn't. But I don't know if the reverse was used on another pairing in 1808 or what type coin the 1808 is. Half Cents and Large Cents used similar designs, but with different changeover dates.

 

The 1808 Half Cent was still a Draped Bust, so the 1809 C-4 is the attribution.

 

Here's the best 2 of my 4 half cents:






I also have an 1803 (really rough) and an 1828 twelve star. I love early copper, just can't afford many of them, lol.

 

Love both genuine and authenticity challenged ones. 2 of mine:



A really great series to research and learn!

 

One of the interesting things about some half cents is that a few hoards have made acquiring higher grade pieces a bit easier. This 1806, Large 6, Stems, half cent is a Mint State piece which more than likely came from the Chapman Brothers hoard. Legend has it that they had a keg of them in the early 1900s. The number was probably more like a few hundred. This coin is now in an NGC MS-62, Brown holder.



Oddly enough, when I was collecting half cents by die variety in the 1980s and early '90s, I had a hard time finding an attractive circulated example of this variety, which is listed as 1806 Cohen 4.

 

I’m sorry. I was wrong. It’s not a C-6. It’s a C-4. Circle-in-0 variety. I don’t know what got into my head to call it something else. This reverse has the words UNITED STATES way too close together and AMERICA way off by itself. (And I wrote the book) Mea culpa.

 

Here's my only half cent to date (will probably remain single for a while I'm afraid...)


1804, plain 4, stemless wreath - 5.26 g, 23.5 mm, die axis 210°

Don't want to hijack the thread but I have a few questions :

Is the die axis something to care about, as I noticed this one isn't exactly in coin alignement, but rather at 210° ?

Would you assign a VG8 grade as I do, or am I completely out ?

Thanks
Q

 

I don't want to be chided about misusing terms, but it has been called a rotated reverse by many for a long time. There are many examples in the early mint copper and some varieties are almost always rotated the same amount while others are found at all different alignments.

That's a nice looking orphan though.

 

Rotated dies are not unusual for early U.S. coins and don’t command a premium. In fact it’s only been in recent years that very many collectors have thought that rotated dies added value.

My first high grade Draped Bust half cent was an 1804, Plain 4 Stemless. That variety might be the most common half cent. I have a vague recollection that the dies were rotated similar the piece @Cucumbor owns.