Hey guys: I bought this 1809 Bust Half on ebay for $48. I finally broke down and bought Al Overton's Book and discovered it is an R5 Overton-101 rarity. R-5 is listed as scarce with only 31-80 known to exist. I know the pics don't do it justice, but it meets all of the 10+ criteria. The probem is that someone scratched the year "1824" over the eagle many many years ago. It's not a major distraction but can easily be seen. Is it worth it to send it in to PCGS for a "genuine" classification as the R5 Overton-101? How much do you think it is worth?
The ebay images look to me to be of an O.102, which shares the same reverse die as the O.101. If this had been, or is indeed, an O.101 R5 then it would be worth it to send for certification.
Here's the Overton-101 criteria of that helps. Some of the points that agree with it (that I see) are: 1-18 looks wider than the 809 2- U broadly recut at bottom, you can even see it in this pic, much better under loupe 3- Star 13 has Scallop 1/s mm from curl 4-Stars 11 & 12 have 2points closer together than others 5-The 9 in 1809 is high and leaning to the right away from the other figures 6- There is a "spur" on the left side of the 8 7- The 1 is definitely wider than the 809
You have the coin in-hand whereas I do not. However, if you look at the next page of Overton you will see the O.102 and there are several features of the O.102 that seem to match up better with the obverse of this coin. The first is that star 7 of the O.101 drops away from the rim farther than stars 1-6 whereas star 7 of the O.102 doesn't appear to drop away from the rim as much. This may simply be due to the fact that the O.101 has many fine, sharp stars whereas the O.102 has broader stars. These broader stars from the O.102 appear to match the style on your coin. The O.101 is also noted to have points from stars 11 and 12 closer to one another than the remainder of the stars, but I don't see that on your coin. Rather, I see stars that look like they could be from O.102. The diagnostics of the reverse are shared by both O.101 and O.102 because as mentioned previously they shared a reverse die. Again, you have the advantage of having the coin in-hand, but based upon the image I would have attributed the coin as an O.102.
BUMMER! I see your points and and comparing. Like everyone else, I want my coin to be RARE and more valuable. LOL I will take it for another professional opinion or two just to be sure. As usual, you guys know your stuff! Thank you.
