My New Half Dime

I agree. The obverse details are very suspect. Perhaps the reverse was made from a transfer die that picked up the clashed marks from a genuine coin.

 

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The 5th and 6th star just don't look right. The sixth has a long point on the top.
I think above all else, the shoulder clasp is a major red flag. That doesn't look right at all unless somebody knows of a die variety?

I'd like to see the pics without so much glare.

 

I hope these pictures are better. They are as good as I can do, without additional equipment. I wonder if the raised spots could be planchet delamination?

 

Man, I just don't know. I'm sure I've expressed my opinion too much here already, but it does look better in the second pics. IMO, the arm does look goofy on some of these.

Could it just be a bad planchet? Have you weighed it? If you don't have a scale, take it to a pharmacy and have them weight it for you in grams once. Might be nice to know.

 

Looks like nice reverse clash marks.

Also, check Breen, the position of the arrows is unusual, could be a nice variety.

 

per Breen, "Arrows normally high, barbs slightly overlapping rocky base; date positions vary slightly. Dentils often weak, especially on obv." 17 obverses, 18 reverses.

 

I'll have to do more research on this coin. As I said, I don't have much experience with half dimes, but it really caught my eye.

BTW, I found a photo that seems to have the larger right arm, like my coin does. See if you agree.
http://www.coinlink.com/CoinGuide/us-type-coins/liberty-seated-half-dime-stars-1840-1859/

 

Has Lady Liberty been curling her shield over the past 150 years? Her arm is HUGE!

I've flipped flopped on the coin, quite candidly. At first I thought it was fake, but the more I look at it I think the odd look may be a result of an extremely shallow lighting angle.

FWIW, and not that I'm an expert, but I don't recall ever seeing a countefeit "with arrows" half dime.

Color me confused.

 

p.s. please take another photo, and move the light as "high" (i.e. close to the camera) as you can. I suspect what we're seeing is shadows caused by this odd lighting angle.

 

My initial impression is that it looks authentic and was struck from worn and clashed dies. The outline of the issues on the reverse appears to be a mirror image of Lady Liberty on the obverse. Also, the two marks behind the right arm appear to be little hits to me that raised a slight amount of metal around them. Of course, now I'm seeing a couple of blobby looking marks coming off of the right arm as well. What do those look like in person SCNuss?

 

"Of course, now I'm seeing a couple of blobby looking marks coming off of the right arm as well. What do those look like in person SCNuss?"

They look like blisters, for lack of a better description.

I'll try to get some better pictures, as soon as I can.

BTW, where do you access the Breen information?