JR Newsletter: 23 March 2025 (662)

We have a number of interesting contributions this week.  First, from Brad Karoleff:

 

JRCS and BHNC Members:

 

We have had a very positive response to the sale of the Charles Horning collection of Draped Bust half dollars.  Many collectors have related to us that they will not be attending the CSNS convention in Chicago at the end of April and still wanted a chance to “get in on the ground floor” of the sale.  Charlie and I have reconsidered the sales rules to allow many of you to have an “early” shot at the coins.

 

We are working on the final pricing this weekend and should have the list available soon.  We will also take orders beginning on Friday April 11 at NOON EDT.  If you are ordering more than one coin please list them in the order of your preference.  This will allow us to distribute the coins that have multiple orders to as many collectors as possible.  Coins 

 

We recently submitted a group of the coins to CAC for stickers.  The submission consisted of 37 coins that we had either purchased raw and had certified at PCGS, or ones that we obtained certified that did not have stickers.  We received the coveted Emerald sticker on 23 of those 37 coins.  The core die marriage/state collection thusly contains a total of 62 coins 5 of which are details graded and 35 have the CAC emerald sticker of approval.  This gives you an unprecedented opportunity to purchase superior quality coins from this scarce series of half dollars.

 

One coin was found to have hidden graffiti in an NGC holder, the 1806 O112 6 over inverted 6 marriage.  We have elected to submit it back to NGC to be removed from the marketplace through their guarantee program.  Charlie has also decided to retain two coins from the collection for “old times sake”.  Those two coins are yet to be determined but will be noted within the next week.

 

If anyone has questions about the coins I will be happy to answer them via either email or phone.  Should anyone want to personally inspect them in Cincinnati before the CSNS show you can make an appointment with me.

 

Thanks to all the collectors who have already expressed interest in the set and to those of you who will consider some of the coins for purchase.

 

Charlie and Brad

 

Brad Karoleff

bkaroleff(at)yahoo.com

Coins Plus, Cincinnati OH

--

 

Next contribution is from Michael T Williams:

Michael T Williams

541-968-7778

mtwilliams(at)nu-world.com

JRCS # 523

 

Early US Coin Books For Sale 

 

**      Early United States Half Dollars Volume I   1794-1807

2015      Steve M Tompkins   H B  (near mint) $85

 

**       Early United States Dimes 1796-1837   Deluxe Edition

           Signed by the five authors   Copy # 63 of 100   (Fine+)   $725  

 

**      Eagle Poised on A Bank of Clouds   Harry E Salyards

           Signed to seller   1^st Edition    HB    (near mint)   $125

 

**     Reeded Edge Half Dollars 1836-1839    Dick Graham

          A Registry of Die Varieties (near mint)   $85

 

**     Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837   Logan & McCloskey

                                               HB (near mint)                        $70

 

**     Early United States Quarters   1796-1838

          Steve M Tompkins           HB (Fine+)             $85      

 

**     The Koenings Collection of 1839 Philadelphia Half Dollars

         Including Liberty Seated Half Dollars    (near mint)   $35

 

**     The Draped Bust Half Dollars of 1796-1797

          Jon P Amato PhD    Heritage Auctions  

          338 pages   SB    (Very Good)                          $50

 

Please add $5 for media shipping.  

Please add $15 for padded flat rate Priority.

--

 

The final contribution comes from David Perkins:

 

W. David Perkins Numismatics will have a new table location for the Whitman-Baltimore Coin Show next week.  This replaces the four corner table section that Gerry Fortin and I had together for the last 10 years or so.  I will be setting up with Jim Matthews and we will have Table 822.  

 

We will have two cases of Bust Dimes, all from the Jim Matthews Reference Collection assembled over the last 40+ years.  This collection has 92 of the 93 die marriages and a large selection of Dimes with Cuds, many quite rare.  These will be sold in 2025 and 2026 via a series of Sealed Bid Auctions and Fixed Price Lists.

 

Send me an e-mail if you would like to be on my Early Dime distribution list and receive the catalogs for this sale and / or participate in the sales.   

 

Steve Herrman of JRCS is photographing all the Dimes and we are posting them on the Newman Portal working with Len Augsburger and his team.  Here is a link to the photos posted so far:

 

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/imagecollection/518211 . Click on the photos to enlarge and view the data on the particular Dime you clicked on.

 

We are also close to having the catalog done for the first Sealed Bid Sale.  We will have sealed bid lot and fixed price list coins at Baltimore for viewing (at Table 822).   The first Sealed Bid Sale will end right after the 2025 Central States Show in Schaumburg, IL, with the first Fixed Price Sale following soon after.  

 

 

I will also have a nice selection of Early U.S. Silver Dollars 1795 to 1803, including some R-8 and R-7 Die Marriages. Both of us will also have early type.

 

 

Hope to see you in Baltimore.  Thanks.

  

W. David Perkins

Centennial, CO
wdperki(at)attglobal.net

Cell 303-902-5366

--

A reminder from the editor:  If you wish to submit a nomination for the JRCS Hall of Fame, please do so soon.  Nominations will be handed to the Hall of Fame Committee with a target time of May.  Send an email to the editor (jrnewsletter(at)gmail.com) or to JRCS President Brad Karoleff (his email address is above).

 

 

 

 

 

 

JR Newsletter: 9 March 2025 (661)

Brad Karoleff wrote:

 

The new issue of the John Reich Journal is back from the printers and should be mailed next week.  You should expect to see them popping up in your mailbox very soon.

 

I think it contains one of the most important and best articles we have seen in a LONG time.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have in bringing it to you.

 

Remember to pay your dues if you receive a notice in with your journal and vote for your favorite article from Volume 34.  A deserving author will receive the Jules Reiver Literary Award for their efforts.

 

Also remember to nominate someone for the JRCS Hall of Fame.  You can send your nominations to Richard Meaney via email (jrnewsletter(at)gmail.com), text or snail mail. 

 

I also need articles to include in the next issue of our journal.  If you have a submission please get in contact with me soon.  The next issue is on a hard deadline to be in your hands in the middle of July to announce the annual meeting at the ANA.  I would like to have submissions in hand no later than June 1st and earlier if possible.

 

Thanks, and hope to see many of you at the CSNS convention in Chicago at the end of April.  I will be selling the Charles D. Horning collection of Draped Bust Half Dollars and W. David Perkins will be selling the James Matthews collection of Capped Bust Dimes.  The show promises to be a great one for the collectors of early silver this year.

 

Brad Karoleff

JR Newsletter: 23 February 2025 (660)

Bill Luebke’s sister, Judy, wrote:

 

As you may have heard by now, William (Bill) Luebke, passed on August 23, 2024. Bill's coins are currently with Heritage Auctions. Some of his coins are being auctioned at the auctions listed below. Bill's family would appreciate it very much if you would take a look see and bid if you find something that appeals to you. 

 

Thank you for any help you may provide it making these auctions successful. We know that Bill would have appreciated it also. He worked many years building his wonderful collection of coins and took great pride in making it the best that he could.

 

Sincerely, Judy, Bill's sister

 

Editor’s Note:  You may search with the term Old Chelsea to find Bill’s coins on Heritage.

 

Auction #	Auction Name		Auction Open For Bidding	Auction Ends
#1381	2025 February 27 - March 2 Long Beach Expo US Coins Signature® Auction		Feb 7, 2025	Mar 2, 2025
#63325	2025 March 10 Old Chelsea Collection US Coins Showcase Auction		Feb 7, 2025	Mar 10, 2025
#132512	Tuesday & Wednesday US Coins Select Auction		Mar 12, 2025	Mar 19, 2025
#61485	2025 March 24 Spotlight: Roman Provincial Ancient Coins Showcase Auction		Feb 23, 2025	Mar 24, 2025

 

 

JR Newsletter: 9 February 2025 (659)

In response to the story Jim Matthews shared about an 1832 JR6 dime, Ron Sohns and Keith Davignon wrote:

 

Excellent story Jim!  It pays to keep at a coin mystery until it is solved.

 

Ron Sohns

--

 

Great story, Jim!

 

Keith D

JR Newsletter: 2 February 2025 (658)

Jim Matthews shared a story about an 1832 JR-6 (photo provided below):

 

 

I have collected cuds and various oddments of Capped Bust dimes for 45 years. One of these oddments was reported in the 2015 publication of the Bust Dime Variety Identification Guide in 2015 by Zack, Scuderi, Sherrill, no doubt at my suggestion. This reference is on page 97 in the second paragraph which reports as follows "JR-6 is also known with an obverse cud above Star 2 (possibly unique)." 

 

One thing about this coin bothered me, it was not the final use of the obverse die as 1832 JR-7 was struck later, so how did this so-called obverse cud disappear? Was it a later remarriage? Since no other confirming obverse cud example turned up in several years this anomaly needed further examination. I showed this coin to my coin dealer friend Steve who studied the cud and we talked about the possibilities of if it even was a cud. Of course, I wanted it to be a cud, but felt like it might be something else. The other option was solder on the edge of the coin which looked like an edge cud. The shape of the cud appeared like others on different dies that are known, and thus appeared to be correct for what a cud should like.

 

As we examined this strange cud like lump, the only other possibility was that it was solder. Then Steve checked the edge carefully, a slight disturbance was found near the cud, and the reeding was perfectly straight, but with late die state cuds where a piece of the die had broken away, the reeding should be bent and raised into the cud void. Then Steve checked the rim at 3 o'clock and another disturbance was noted, where the reeding was filed down ever so slightly. Of course, this coin had been part of a bracelet and removed! So, the cud was nothing but a patch of wayward solder from a time when this coin was used in jewelry.

 

The history of this coin is interesting as it was first purchased by Mike Marker, an early dime collector and cousin of the then JRCS President David Davis. Davis ended up with this coin long ago and gave it to me in 2009 for my cud collection. It slipped into my dime collection without proper examination with the *hope* that it was a very rare obverse cud. Now the proper and experienced examination by Steve has debunked this cud to be nothing more than post minting damage. 

 

One of the great things about collecting is we are always learning new things, and have to keep an open mind to see things as they are, and not how we hope them to be.

 

Jim Matthews

 

 

JR Newsletter: 26 January 2025 (657)

 In response to the news of the sale of the Jim Matthews collection of bust dimes through David Perkins Rare Coins, Bob Feldman wrote:

At this time there are three 1802 JR1 dimes known, two 1796 JR7 dimes known , and two 1827 JR14 dimes known. I own one of the 1827 JR14 dimes. These are the three most collectors never obtain.

Bob Feldman

JR Newsletter: 19 January 2025 (656)

Steve Herrman wrote:

 

PRE-TURBAN BUST HALF DOLLAR CENSUS

(submissions needed by February 15, 2025)

 

The next issue of the John Reich Journal will include the Pre-Turban Bust Half Dollar Census. Please list your census information (your name and JRCS number, dates, Overton die marriage numbers, and numerical grades), including any duplicates you may have.

 

Steve Herrman will collect your submissions and author the article. There is an Excel template available to list your coins. Click on the link below to download.

 

http://www.jrcs.org/online-resources/2025%20Pre-Turban%20Bust%20Half%20Dollar%20Census%20Template.xlsx

 

Please email your census information to Steve at herrman102(at)aol.com

--

James Higby wrote:

 

For the record, I was there when ANACS graded coins and accompanied their opinion with a black and white photo certificate.  At that time, I had been in the hobby for three decades and welcomed the first significant progress in teaching people how to grade by including more than just jawboning on paper.  Since that time great improvements have been made in both grading guides and protective holders.  In my eyes, however, putting a sticker on the holder that says the coin is at the top of a particular grade designation is superfluous and leads the witness. That's just my opinion, and I don't charge for it.  Unfortunately, the beans cost us collectors extra whether we need it or not.

--

A couple of reminders from the editor of the JR Newsletter:

1. If you wish to submit a nomination for the JRCS Hall of Fame, you may submit names to the editor and he will handle the Hall of Fame voting process with a committee of voters.

2. If you have contributions to the JR Newsletter (or Hall of Fame nominations), please send them via email to jrnewsletter(at)gmail.com

JR Newsletter: 12 January 2025 (655)

One contribution for the week, Scott McKenzie wrote:

 

My two cents as a collector regarding CAC third party services

 

Be it here with the JR Newsletter, or across the various hobby boards online, it seems most folks, Dealer or Collector, recognize the benefit of what CAC offers the hobby. Then there are those, which from my impressions appear to be in the minority, hold the opinion CAC’s initial service of offering the “bean”, an additional expert opinion on top of the encapsulated opinion, is a bridge too far, a gimmick, a racket…. 

 

I’ve been collecting coins for a few decades now. I feel CAC has been nothing but positive for the hobby on the whole. For so many reasons listed by folks far more knowledgeable than myself. 

 

From a collector standpoint, I would think if one does not see the benefits of CAC and looks at it more so as a gimmick, I would think that collector likely looks at all TPG’s and encapsulation thru a negative lens and as some sort of gimmick or waste of money. For me, they've helped me evolve as a collector, sharpen my eye, learn, better protect my investments and hopefully maximize my return when that day comes for me or for my heirs. And there are probably a few other benefits I've neglected to mention here, as I kill time waiting for my dinner reservation.

 

Collect raw, saddle up to one TPG only, or play the field... different strokes for different folks, just enjoy the coins!

 

Kind Regards,

S.Mckenzie 

 

JR Newsletter: 5 January 2025 (654)

Alan Weinberg wrote:

 

With respect to Brad K’s retort favoring CAC and  other “ approval “ 3rd party stickers : there are 3 phrases I note he emphasizes : “ the marketplace”,  “ premium prices “ and  “ seasoned collectors”.

 

So it is all about financial aspects of “ stickering “  slabbed / stickered coins to get a higher price and sell more readily ? Perhaps for dealers, but not for “ seasoned collectors “ of which I am one. And this is also true for the vast majority of “ seasoned “ dealers and collectors 

I’ve talked with. In fact , many do not even like slabbing, ridiculing the lack of the tactile pleasure of handling a  rare coin, not being able to weigh or examine a rim or even appreciate the coin’s true beauty and patina by turning it in the light.

 

Sure, slabbing is unfortunately wise when going to sell as more recent   “ collectors” / investors require slabbing and “ stickers “ because they are not knowledgeable enough to trust their own judgement. I auctioned my own six decade rare coin collection 2019-2022 over several sessions and every coin was “ raw “ carefully selected over many years including five 1793 Chain cents, a full set of 1792 American  patterns and the finest CONDITION  Mass colonial silver coin ever formed. The  auction house slabbed every coin at their cost. I cringed but yielded to their 

judgment.

 

My Brasher Doubloon  is “ stickered “ - talk about  “  gilding the lily “ . This I still kept, having first passed  on it in 1962 for $14,000.

 

See image below

 

Alan V Weinberg

--

Rick Sorenson wrote in response to Jim Matthews:

 

Jim, I look forward to your auction of your bust dimes. I'm down to three. I started half dimes now and wish I would have figured this out decades ago. 

 

         I don't know if this can go out to all members but I will list the Bust half dimes i need.

 

 1829 6.1 6.3 7.3 8 9 10 13.2 15.1 15.2 

1830 4.1 5 6 8 10 11 

1831 1.1 7

1832 8.2 9.1 9.2 10.1 10.3 10.4 

1833 3.1 4.3 5. 

1835 5.2 8.2 9.2 12 

1836 1.1 

 

        I don't need them slabbed, actually i break them out. I prefer vf 25 to xf 40. If any member would like to send me a list of coins that they would be willing to sell I would be greatly interested. 

 

Rick Sorenson

rickandjoni(at)comcast.net

 

Happy Holidays

--

 

David Perkins wrote:

 

W. David Perkins and Jim Matthews will have Table 215 at next week’s FUN Show.  Lots from the first half of the James Matthews Collection of early dimes will be available for viewing.

 

Lots for the Early U. S. dimes from the first Fixed Price List (FPL) and Sealed Bid Sale (SBS) sessions for the James Matthews Collection will be available for viewing at our Table 215.  There are approximately 80 Lots in the first half of this sale.  This collection was put together by Jim over the last 40-50 years!  The majority of the Lots are graded by PCGS, a number of which are housed in older holders.  The Capped Bust Dime collection is complete except for one “R-8 Die Marriage,” missing in all but two collections.  

 

Collectors and Dealers may Register for the sale and get on my Early Dime mailing list at the show, or by e-mail at wdperki(at)attglobal.net  .  If you are not attending the FUN Show you are welcome to have a trusted friend view Lots for you.  High resolution photos will be available in March 2025.  A catalog will be sent out at that time.  If you are unsure if you are on the early dime mailing list just drop me a note and I’ll double check this.

 

We will also have many early silver and copper coins, including a fair number of early dollars 1795 to 1803.

 

JRCS dues may be dropped off to David Perkins, Treasurer at our Table 215.  Checks should be made out to JRCS.  

 

Hope to see you in Orlando!

 

 

W. David Perkins

Centennial, CO

 

wdperki(at)attglobal.net

 

Cell 303-902-5366

--

Addendum (added January 6): From Sheridan Downey

My 59th "Mail Bid" Sale closes Friday Jan. 10 at 6 PM EST.  Lots may be previewed at my FUN Show bourse tables 438-440 all day Thursday and Friday.  The sale is highlighted by an 1805 O.114 (lot 56), one of only 2-known examples.  The number of colorfully toned bust half-dollars - with nice surfaces - is extraordinary.  Descriptions and photos of all 96 coins are available on my website, https://www.sheridanscoins.com/inc_active-mb.php.  Active bidders are welcome to pick up a copy of the catalog at my table.  The catalog may be downloaded here, https://www.sheridanscoins.com/inc_News.php.

Happy New Year to all!

Sheridan