First a little background. I collect the Capped Bust Half Dimes (1829-1837) by die marriage of which there are 92 and also some 32 remarriages. I don't collect by die state because that is a rabbit hole in which I don't care to become enmeshed. But sometimes, you just have to follow your heart. I had filled the 1837 LM-1 die marriage with the nice coin shown in the first photograph which is a later die state of the reverse after the die had been heavily lapped to remove clash marks. Now this series is noted for lots of die clashes but none is more dramatic than the early reverse die state of the 1837 LM-1. So, when I saw the coin in the second photo I had to have it, despite the fact that it had been brutalized by someone who polished it up to make it look "better". Besides it was cheap. I had to mute the lighting and exposure of this coin because it was so polished that the glare just washed out all the detail. The complete reverse is shown in the third photo. This early die state reverse clash shown in the fourth photo shows the complete date clashed between TATE and the banner. The clash extends halfway up the letters of TATE and is bordered at the bottom by the banner. The 1 is under the first letter T, the 8 is under A, the 3 is under the second T, and the 7 is under E. The clashed numerals of the date are mirror-imaged. You can see all this in the close-up. The reverse has many other significant clashed areas but this one is the cool one.
I understand what you say about die states collecting. I'm okay with marriages and remarriages. But, ultimately, die states collecting breaks down to the realization that every next coin produced by a die is a subsequent die state. My OCD brain can't get around a collection that is impossible to complete. My default would seem to be what you've done here: establish what the "set" is and augment it with whatever else I find that is "cool."
