I found it for sale and the edge looks weird. Was it struck out of collar or something else IYO? Thanks
Fake? Really? Shield doesn't look off to me.... What, specifically, looks off to you? This one shows same rim effect: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1856-Seated-Liberty-Half-Dime-Choice-BU-NICE-ORIGINAL-/400136539548 As does this one: http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=318&lotNo=5857#Photo Note the following in the detail: "The denticles are indistinct--a not uncommon feature for the issue" Again, the rim doesn't bother me in the least -- looks like die crumbling you'd see on a large cent -- apparently no different from others of the same date/issue. Comparing the OPs coin to the two pictured above, what, specifically, looks off to you? LIBERTY and the shield look good to me, but maybe you're seeing something I'm not....Mike
It is real. The rims/denticals on the 1850's/60's half dimes often look like this. I don't know why they frequently come this way but they do. They almost look like a broadstrike but they do have reeding on the edge and they are not oversized.
I will stand corrected Mike, I must have been comparing it to another denomination. It actually looks concave. I have never seen one like that.
It might be genuine Mike, I dunno. That's why I said "off the top of my head". The things that bother me, make me suspicious, are the surfaces. On the obv, and oddly on the obv only, I see a look that is often found on cast coins - small pits and bumps scattered pretty much over the entire coin. And yeah, coins found in the ground often have that same look. But when they do, both sides of the coin have the same look, not just one. But cast coins will often have that 1 side effect for the bubbles rise to the top of the mold while the bottom is smooth like it is supposed to be. On the rev the surface is very uneven, especially around the right side of HALF DIME and the right loop of the bow. There are sizable high spots and low spots. Same kind of thing around the ES and OF. Those are things that jumped out at me, very unusual and not at all common on genuine coins. Thus my comment.
