JR Newsletter: 17 November 2024 (647)

Jeffrey Amelse wrote an article on attributing a particular 1824 O-116 Capped Bust Half Dollar.  The article is linked for readers below.  He intends to talk about the article and the process he followed in attributing the half dollar at the JRCS Quarterly Zoom meeting on November 20th.

 

The linked article:  https://mcusercontent.com/74a0e3c37d154d935bdeb2daf/files/08c0b19b-38e4-b766-f03c-0604a1598e8b/On_the_1824_O_116_Capped_Bust_Half_Dollar.pdf

 

 

--

 

Alan Bricker wrote:

 

At a south-central Pennsylvania coin show during 1994 I encountered a harshly cleaned 1837 Reeded Edge Bust Half unlike any that I had seen to date. Further, Jules Reiver was unaware of a matching example. Without declaring it to be a “new” die marriage, I decided to “wait and see” for a matching (preferably better condition and grade) example to come to light. Richard Graham’s Reeded Edge Bust Half Dollars registry, published in 2012, did not list a match. Now, over thirty years since the coin originally surfaced, it is under scrutiny within the Reeded Edge Bust Halves community.

--

 

From the JR Newsletter Editor:  If a reader sent me information about an 1837 half dollar that was at ICG, I never received a photo of the coin in case you wanted to publish photos for readers of the newsletter.

  

--

 

Alan Bricker wrote:

 

At a south-central Pennsylvania coin show during 1994 I encountered a harshly cleaned 1837 Reeded Edge Bust Half unlike any that I had seen to date. Further, Jules Reiver was unaware of a matching example. Without declaring it to be a “new” die marriage, I decided to “wait and see” for a matching (preferably better condition and grade) example to come to light. Richard Graham’s Reeded Edge Bust Half Dollars registry, published in 2012, did not list a match. Now, over thirty years since the coin originally surfaced, it is under scrutiny within the Reeded Edge Bust Halves community.

--

 

From the JR Newsletter Editor:  If a reader sent me information about an 1837 half dollar that was at ICG, I never received a photo of the coin in case you wanted to publish photos for readers of the newsletter.

 

JR Newsletter: 10 November 2024 (646)

Alan Weinberg wrote:

I acquired this  1835 John Adams Taunton Mass hard times token Low 301A out of Heritage’s Dr Robert Schuman ‘s five decades- built Hard Times Tokens auction October 28.  Won for $8000 plus 20% buyers fee or $9600 all in.

It is unique and struck over an 1811 Bust half dollar,

Overton -105A,  the 1811 date fully visible at the 3 o’clock position.

The interesting back story is that in the Heritage Donald Partrick Dec 2020 auction  lot 45271  (5 years earlier) I was Bob Schuman’s immed underbidder at Bob’s winning bid of $15,500 all in, $6000 more than I had to pay “all in” this  October. Even more ironic, I was Don Partrick’s underbidder on this same unique coin in Bowers & Ruddy’s  Oct 1982 “ NY Public Library sale “, lot 3015. Knowing both Partrick & Schuman for decades, there really was no way to bid successfully against them. One ex wealthy and the other a  determined specialist and medical doctor.

In the Schuman auction of superb Hard Times Tokens assembled since the 1970’s, both quality and prices realized were extraordinary. This piece, in my opinion, the “ sexiest” lot in the entire 

collection ( to use John Ford terminology),  had to be the only lot that Bob took a loss on and undoubtedly made up for it on other lots, one unique HTT selling for $120,000.

I provide a Schuman HT 301A Adams running boar Mass token to show what the actual token overstrike looks like. The piece I won is obviously a die trial strike and is one of the most intriguing pieces in my 66+ year numismatic collection.

Images courtesy of Heritage Dallas as I’m awaiting my lot in the mail.

Alan V Weinberg

--

W. David Perkins Numismatics will have Table 818 at this coming weeks Whitman-Baltimore Coin show.

 

Dave will have a nice selection of early dollars, including R-6 to R-8 Early Dollars.  Many have CAC stickers.

 

In addition, we’re hoping to have a preview of a long time early Dime collection, including a fair number of “Dimes with Cuds.”  

 

Please stop by and see us.  Thanks.

 

W. David Perkins

Centennial, CO

 

wdperki(at)attglobal.net

 

Cell Phone 303-902-5366

JR Newsletter: 3 November 2024 (645)

 Brad Karoleff wrote with a reminder:

We are still looking for articles to fill the next issue of our journal. 

If you can help by submitting something for publication please contact me ASAP. 

Thanks

Brad

bkaroleff(at)yahoo.com

JR Newsletter: 6 October 2024 (644)

 Brad Karoleff wrote:

I still need a lot of content for the next issue of the John Reich Journal. Please see if you can put something together for publication. 

Thanks

Brad

Bkaroleff (at) yahoo.com

JR Newsletter: 22 September 2024 (643)

Brad Karoleff wrote:

 

It is that time again.  I need input for the next issue of our John Reich Journal.

 

The cupboard is completely empty!

 

Please consider sending something for publication in the November issue.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Brad Karoleff

bkaroleff(at)yahoo.com

--

 

Sean Kelly wrote:

 

Calling for volunteers (or nominations) for a speaker or presenter to give a talk at our upcoming JRCS meeting at the 70th annual FUN (Florida United Numismatists) show, January 9 - 12, 2025!  http://www.funtopics.com/fun-convention.html

 

Even if you can't commit to this January, we'd love to pencil you in for a future presentation - so don't hold back. Please share your ideas with Sean Kelly, skelly63(at)gmail.com

 Thanks!

 

JR Newsletter: 1 September 2024 (642)

Alan Weinberg wrote:

These two counterstamped bust halves were acquired together privately ( not on the bourse )  

at the recent ANA.

The Martine Fayette NC  ( HT 374 ) is the finest known of fewer than 10 known on bust halves and is unusual among those known as having the counterstamp on Liberty’s image ( and razor sharp) instead of in the obverse field. Almost  as if Martine wanted to see if his stamp visibility would be impaired placed on the high relief detail of Liberty.

It wasn’t.

The Yankee Robinson of Civil War vintage is common on seated halves but is reportedly unique on a bust half. Ironically, upon acquiring the Yankee Robinson I discovered accompanying it an old envelope of mine from years past indicating I once owned it !

See two images taken at home by iPhone

- - - - - -

Liz Coggan wrote in response to the discussion of an 1837 capped bust half dime with what appears to be a minted anomaly:

I think  it looks like the top of a misplaced digit, ie the 8, the way the raised area is shaped looks like part of the loop of an 8. Kind of what we see on Indian Head cents or seated coinage whereby portions of digits are struck up into say, the base of the rock, on a Seated half dollar. 

—Liz 

JR Newsletter: 25 August 2024 (641)

We received a few responses to the “how did this happen” that Richard Meaney wrote about last week.  A raised, semi-circle area under and attached to Miss Liberty’s nose was seen on an 1837 capped bust half dime.  Among the responses received so far:

 

-       Perhaps some sort of a strike through?

-       I am not a fan of nose piercing, but it is great to see you have started your next set of Capped Bust Half Dimes!

-       This is a “back and forth” conversation:

o   I think a telling item is that the reverse has the first A in AMERICA apparently falling apart which I assume is from die failure? So, something was happening or happened to the die.  Maybe something broke off the die or some minting equipment and damaged the die such that the area under the nose became raised.  It does look like a late die stage coin, even has the clash or deterioration marks under the left wing that is seldom seen.  Nice mystery!

o   Your thought of die damage is a good one, although I would have thought that more specimens would have turned up with the same issue but your analysis is sound.  Maybe when the coiners saw the coins with this issue, they pulled the die given that it is a late die state. Realistically, there is no other possible explanation for a raised area on the coin except a die issue and the shape of this raised area would be initially suggestive of a piece of metal falling on the die late in this die marriages production.  Only problem with this analysis is that this die was already hardened and tempered so a piece of metal falling on the die would be unlikely to produce an incused area in the die. And if an extemporaneous piece of metal fell on an annealed die, before it was hardened, the damage could have easily been lapped out, unless of course they didn’t see it. But as a late die state, clearly a large number of coins must have been struck from this die pair, so that doesn’t make a lot of sense. In reviewing all these scenarios, the only one that make cents, it that the die broke in that area towards the end of its life, just a weird shape for a die break, but I don’t have any other thoughts that make sense.  

-       I would need to see it in hand to determine what happened, though I am not sure even if I did see it in hand I would be able to come up with a reasonable scenario.