Winston Zack provides our only contribution this week, but
it's a great one:
Several of you Bust Dime guys who also collect die states
may have noticed that an extremely rare 1825 JR-4 with obverse Retained Cud
popped up on eBay in a 5-coin Bust Dime lot this past week. The
seller is notorious for selling groups of primarily lower grade/cull type
coins, so it was that much more impressive to notice that the 1825 JR-4 Obverse
Cud in this lot appeared to be a respectable example with no immediately discernible damage
noticeable from the images. From the moment I first saw the listing I
knew this was one of the rarest cuds in the Capped Bust Dime series; an
example still missing from my collection of Capped Bust Dime Retained and
Full Cuds; currently there are ~30-32 Capped Bust Dime die marriages
exhibiting cuds (refer to the March 2009 Vol. 19, Issue 3 John Reich
Journal for an ALMOST complete list of known Capped Bust Dime Cuds with their
rarity estimates; the only two I am aware of which are missing from that list
are the 1830 JR-2 reverse retained cud and the 1834 JR-4 reverse full cud
which I discovered in 2010 and is still unique as far as I know).
Previously, the only image I had seen of this die state was
from Jim Matthews' John Reich Journal article (whole number 49, June
2005). The example shown in the article appeared comparable to the
example from eBay - lower-grade G/VG. In the Matthews article, he noted
that this die state is only known in the Retained Cud form, and no examples
were known in the Full Cud; at the very least low-grade examples (pretty much
anything VF and lower) are very difficult to attribute as Full Cuds unless
other known characteristics are present. In addition, the only known
reference I am aware of citing the rarity of this Cud (and other Capped Bust
Dime Cuds) comes from Charles Horning's March 2009 Vol. 19 Issue
3 John Reich Journal, where he cited this Cud as an R7+ (~4-6 known).
What makes this Cud so much more interesting than just its
current rarity is the fact that it is an obverse cud ( < 20%
of known Capped Bust Dime Cuds are obverse Cuds due to the position
of the dies and the differential pressures exerted on each die in the coin
operation) and the size of the Cud. Few Capped Bust Dime Cuds rival the
size of this example, and the only example I can think of which is larger is
the 1833 JR-4 reverse Cud from E1 to A2, although that Cud forms in 3
stages rather than failing all at once as is assumed on the 1825 JR-4.
After providing that background I am pleased to report I was
the winner (barely) of this coin (and the 4 others) last week. It
now proudly rests alongside my other Capped Bust Dime Cuds, of which I now have
16 different die marriages. In terms of condition, the coin exhibits G+
details with a couple of light rim dings around 9
o'clock. The Cud appears to be full (or nearly so), but I
attribute the filling of the area as wear and consider this a
worn retained cud. I have provided photos of the coin below.
Editor's note: Click on a photo to view a larger version of the photo.
In addition, I am selling my 1825 B-3 Capped Bust Quarter
with Reverse Cud through UNITED; 1825 must have been a rough year for quality
control at the mint! The coin is Good, light rim wear is creeping into the
fields and light circulation chatter noted for accuracy. I'm looking for
$625 shipped and insured (or best offer). Photo also provided below. If interested in purchasing the quarter,
please contact me via email at stoneman101 (at) gmail.com
