Today's Half Cent Finds

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Fish, Nov 12, 2006.

  1. Fish

    Fish Half Cent Nut

    Evening all. I had quite a time at a local coin show today, one I'm fairly happy with and one I'm just outright delighted with. I'll apologize in advance for the pictures, I've yet to find a happy medium between excellent detail and picture size. Not to mention they were taken with my scanner. So they're huge, and they have odd little white spots that aren't on the coins themselves.

    The first thing I picked up was an 1808/7, in low but affordable grade. The delicious thing about it is that it is Breen 1/Cohen 1, which is listed in Breen's half cent encyclopedia as an R7 (4-12 estimated to exist)! I love unattributed early copper. I've been looking for one of these for a while now, and though I would have been happier to find it in a higher grade, when you're talking about something that uncommon you can't be that terribly picky. Also delightful is the fact that it is, to Breen at least, an unknown die state. Die state one is characterized by a heavy crack through ITED to the border above N and after D, and another crack from the next dentil over from where the previous ended through the top of STATE to the border from A. Well, on this coin you can see the second diagnostic crack, but not the first, except for possibly very weak between E and D!

    http://www.fish-mail.com/images/coins/1808b1o.jpg
    http://www.fish-mail.com/images/coins/1808b1r.jpg

    The second I was very, very excited about at the show. Excited enough to spend money I had had set aside for the Michigan State show after Thanksgiving. I purchsed an 1809 over inverted 9 (commonly referred to as 1809/6) Breen 5/Cohen 5 in what I thought was die state 1, which Breen refers to as "extremely rare". With the book in front of me, I saw that the die file marks I was seeing were not in the right place for state 1, and that I had missed the diagnostics for the latter states. It is, in fact, die state 4. Still, it is a very solid AU with excellent detail, and will make a beautiful addition to my collection. The obverse has some gorgeous blue hints along miss Liberty's jaw and neck to her hair. When you add in the fact that I got it for a bit under grey sheet bid, I didn't do too bad. Hell, as far as my year-set goes I'd long since decided I was going to be happy with an EF40 or so for 1809.

    http://www.fish-mail.com/images/coins/1809b5o.jpg
    http://www.fish-mail.com/images/coins/1809b5r.jpg

    I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed purchasing them! Later this week I will show off one I got from the bay a bit ago.

    Fish
     
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  3. Stop Motion

    Stop Motion New Member

    Nice coins! I really like the 1808/7, I love those die cracks! :D
    SM
     
  4. Fish

    Fish Half Cent Nut

    Then you're going to love the one I have coming in the mail. Just downright love it. ;)
     
  5. Leadfoot

    Leadfoot there is no spoon

    Great coins, both of them, but I really the 1809 -- that's a tougher coin than many think. :D

    Thanks for sharing...Mike
     
  6. Jim M

    Jim M Ride it like ya stole it

    Very Nice pickup. Must of been at the 7mile/telegraph show eh.. : )
     
  7. Stop Motion

    Stop Motion New Member

    Look forward to seeing it! :D

    I just bought a 1818 quarter that has a cool die crack running through the 2 in 25 cents!
    Love em!
    SM
     
  8. Fish

    Fish Half Cent Nut

    Telegraph and Nine Mile, but yeah. First time I've ever been to that one, and I have to say, the variety was pretty good. My wife didn't have much luck with her Jeffersons, but she managed to get a Finland from her mom's birth year (complete with a DDR and a DDO to boot!) and from Vatican City for her dad for Christmas.

    I would have liked to see more half cents, but there just aren't that many out there to look through these days. Ebay looks like it's going to be my best bet for searching a volume for varieties and die states.

    Fish
     
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