We have a couple of contributions this week. First, from Sheridan
Downey:
I too spotted the misspelling of Elton's last name in the
Kagin's catalogue. Elton was my bust
half mentor for 15 years. I'll not
forget the time he reminded me how to spell his last name, "It's Dosier,
with an S as in sugar," he
said. I still I jump out of my skin when
I see it spelled with a Z.
Sheridan
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And from yours truly:
Recall that last week, I wrote about a semi-exciting new
find in my 1834 LM-3 half dime graded PCGS MS63. I mentioned that it was an upgrade over the
PCGS AU58 CAC coin that was my set piece. What I did not mention was something else
about my AU58 half dime that I did not know a week ago.
A friend asked me what I was going to do with my
"duplicate" 1834 LM-3. I told
him I would have to check my notes to see what I paid for it. I checked my notes, and my notes are
notoriously devoid of detail much of the time.
I am not so great at recording date of purchase, price paid, source of
coin, etc. So I started searching for
information. I think I found the price paid.
I think I found the seller's
name. Then I recalled a lesson I learned
only last year when I almost sold a Logan-McCloskey plate coin accidentally
because of my inferior record-keeping. I
decided to compare my coin against the coin on page 250 of "Federal Half
Dimes 1792-1837." I thought,
"hmm, these coins look alike, but I did not buy this as a plate coin, I
know the seller never mentioned it as a plate coin, and my sparse notes make no
indication that this is a plate coin."
So I started to look more closely.
I examined marks, toning spots, and other markers. Despite the appearance that my coin was
lighter than the image in the book, the markers appeared to line up. Imagine my surprise when I came to the
conclusion that my "duplicate" was THE plate coin from the half dime
book!
Of course, I had to tell my friend about my discovery and
that I would not be entertaining the sale of the coin at this time. I guess each of us should make such checks
before we sell our coins, right? You
never know!
Richard Meaney
Here's that
"duplicate" coin…the plate coin from page 250:
