JR Newsletter: 2 January 2011 (17)

Editor's Note:  You may have noticed that I delete the @ symbol from email addresses on this blog.  I do this so that spammers can't easily grab email addresses and send junk to various email accounts.  

 

Also, the JR Newsletter welcomes FUN Show reports!  Whether you spent an hour on the bourse or spent an entire week in Tampa for the pre-FUN activities and the full FUN Show, I'm sure others want to hear about your experiences!

 

Jim Matthews wrote:

 

I've submitted quite a number of interesting books, catalogs and numismatically related items to the David Sklow sale closing February 12, 2011. Lot 496 is a complete set of John Reich Journals from the first issue through January 2004--a set of these is rarely offered!

 

I'm still looking for the 1827 JR-14--anyone found the second one yet? I thought I was doing well in 2010 to finally obtain a decent example of the 1827 JR-2 dime, and then another 1827 variety turns up....Man it's one step forward, and another one back!

 

I don't know much about the new merger between Stack's and Bowers and Merena, it was announced late Wednesday December 22nd as everyone in the office was trying to complete the Americana Auction cataloging and head off for the holidays, after days of long hours and hard work for all. Chris Napolitano is a solid leader and we're excited to see how far our combined companies can grow!

 

Wishing all a Happy New Year!

 

Jim Matthews

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Rich Hartzog wrote (in response to a question regarding availability of an "Early US Dimes" book:

While I do not have this, I do have the Quarterman publication: "The United States Half Dimes" by Valentine.  Brand new, direct from Quarterman.  Write me direct for prices and availability.  Rich Hartzog <hartzog (at) exonumia.com>

Happy Collecting!

Rich Hartzog
AAA Historical Americana - World Exonumia
POB 4143 Rockford IL 61110 (815)226-0771
http://www.exonumia.com hartzog (at) exonumia.com

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Jeff Reichenberger wrote:

 

Regarding the EAC/JRCS Happenings. I had the pleasure of attending and helping out at one of these and I could not have asked for a better experience. I urge anyone who has the opportunity to get there, don't pass up the chance!  I know there has been some discussion for Early Half Dollars to include at the happenings, I'd like to nominate the 1808 O110. I'd love to see the die state progression, particularly the Star 7 crack, on a bunch of these coins side by side.

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Liz Coggan wrote:

Rare 1801 Draped Bust half dime LM-1, R-7 to be auctioned in a sealed bid sale at the FUN show in Tampa, FL

Please note, we will be conducting another sealed bid auction for another rare variety in the Draped Bust half dime series at the FUN show in Tampa, FL in January. We will be selling the 1801 LM-1 Rarity-7 which is VG-8 in condition. As you can see the coin is dark and difficult to photograph, so we encourage you to review the coin in person in Tampa. We will have the coin at our Table #1119. The bidding will commence at $6,500. Please contact me if you have interest in bidding and if you desire further details.  Bids will be accepted up until 2:00 pm on Friday, January 7, 2011.  Bids can be submitted via phone at 617-821-8430 (my cell); 1-800-343-6412 (the office) or via email at liz@jjteaparty.com. Good luck and see you at FUN!

Best wishes,

 Liz Coggan, J J Teaparty, Inc.

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Richard Meaney and Brad Karoleff wrote:

We encourage readers of the JR Newsletter to submit names for nomination to the JRCS Hall of Fame.  Two people will be selected for entrance to the JRCS Hall of Fame and names will be announced at the JRCS meeting during the ANA Show in Chicago.  There are two categories for which we seek nomination:  (1)  "JRCS Era" for people active in the hobby during the era in which the JRCS has been an active society, and (2) "Pre-JRCS Era" for people active in the hobby prior to the JRCS coming into existence.  As an example, Daniel Valentine (pre-JRCS Era) and Russ Logan (JRCS Era) were selected for the JRCS Hall of Fame in 2010.  

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Paul Hybert wrote:

2011 Summer ANA Call for Exhibits

The ANA's 2011 Anniversary convention will be held in suburban Chicago
on August 16-20, Tuesday through Saturday -- next to O'Hare airport, at
the same venue as in 1991 and 1999.  The ANA has some information
already on their web site, including hotel information. The Exhibits
Local Committee is looking for new, lapsed, and returning exhibitors.
Send all questions to us at
    ANA2011Exhibits (at) ChicagoCoinClub.org

The key ingredient for an exhibit is information. Think of your favorite
area in numismatics. You have acquired some interesting pieces, a few
stories, and have an idea of how it all goes together. All the makings
of an interesting exhibit! JRCS members were among the exhibitors in
2010 at Boston ANA; we identified some prospective exhibitors while at
the 2010 CSNS and ANA conventions, so now we have to close the deal and
find even more exhibitors. The URL for the main ANA exhibiting page is

http://www.money.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NumismaticEvents/ConventionExhibits/default.htm

Direct links to useful pages at ANA can be found on the page of the
Local Exhibits Committee
   http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/events/2011/ana/lo/collector_gallery.html
and that page will be updated as more information becomes available.
Exhibiting does take a commitment of time -- the exhibits must be in
place by the early Tuesday afternoon opening of the convention, and the
exhibits cannot be removed until very late on Saturday afternoon (when
the convention closes). It is possible to use an agent for setup or
takedown, but that option has been little used during the last few
years. If you cannot stay all week, but do live not too far away, maybe
you could make two trips -- on PNG-day (or that evening, after work)
for setup, and on Saturday for the takedown.

Do not despair if you have a great idea for an exhibit but will visit
for only a day or two -- have you considered speaking at the Numismatic
Theatre? Each program typically starts on the hour and lasts about
30-40 minutes, and is followed with a time for questions from the
audience. In Boston, Brad Karoleff led a panel discussion on the early
U.S. mint -- the two hour program ended before all Busties topics were
covered, so maybe we can look forward to a continuation in 2011. Send
your questions to the Numismatic Theatre Local Committee at
   ANA2011Theatre (at) ChicagoCoinClub.org

JR Newsletter: 26 December 2010 (16)

A couple of notes from the editor before I present this week's comments:

1.  If you wish to provide comments/responses for publications, all you need do is respond via email or web comments.

You can reply via web at http://jr-newsletter.blogspot.com/ by simply clicking on the "comments" link at the end of the current week's contributions.  Your editor reads the comments and ensures they are included in the subsequent week's email newsletter.

You can reply via email either by sending a reply to the weekly email newsletter that you receive at jrnewsletter(at)jrcs.org or send an email to jrnewsletter(at)gmail.com  -- I check each email account at least a couple times per week, including just before sending out the Sunday newsletter.

Each week, I get 10-20 replies to the mass email that I send out.  Many are "out of the office" automatic replies, some are "undeliverable" replies (mailbox full, for example), and some are just replies in which the sender just accidentally sent me back a copy of the newsletter.

If you have submitted comments that you expected to see published and those comments did not get published, please try sending the comments to me via one of the methods that I have listed above.

2.  The weekly email can be seen in easier-to-read format (along with better/larger images) at http://jr-newsletter.blogspot.com/ 

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This week's contributions:

Nathan Markowitz wrote:

Springtime in the Pacific Northwest is just around the corner and we are well into the final planning for the EAC/JRCS convention to be held May 12-15 at the Doubletree Lloyd Center hotel in Portland Oregon.  This is not a traditional commercial show(though there are lots of dealers); its sort of like the JRCS room we have at ANA except for three straight days.j

For those who do not know Oregon or the Northwest May is nothing short of stunning.  Portland is blessed with numerous gardens: Chinese, Japanese, Rhododendron, and the massive international Rose Garden.  The Coast and Mt Hood are 1.5 hours away and downhill skiing is still ongoing at Mt Hood.  We are the microbrew capitol of america.  

We will be organizing a Columbia Gorge Waterfall tour on Saturday and a Winery Tour on Thursday.  Finally, for those who might have trouble convincing a non collector but shopping spouse to accompany you....Oregon has NO SALES TAX and the convention is right next door to prime shopping venues and a vibrant downtown.

Some details:

Thursday May 12:  Copper Grading Seminar 10-noon

                                Winery Tour:  Noon-5PM

                                Reception:  Yummy northwest food 5:30

                                Happenings:  Show your coins!  7:30-10PM....see below

Friday May 13:      Bourse open

                               Educational seminars on copper, silver, history

                               Keynote speaker/dinner

Saturday May 14:  Bourse open

                               Educational seminars/waterfall tour

                               Copper auction

Sunday May 15     Bourse closes 3 pm

                               Adjourn

A comment on the happenings:  This is a multiroom display to show off specific varieties of coins.  There will be a colonial, large cent, half cent, and bust silver room.  After five years we have already seen a wonderful array of early silver and I strongly encourage everyone to bring some examples to display; high grades are NOT necessary!

We need to finalize the listing for die marriages to display.  It is important that we choose ones where a number of examples will be displayed:

Early Quarters:  We have selected 1806 Browning 5 and 1806 Browning 6

Early Half Dimes:  ???

Early Dollars:  ???

Early Halves:  I have seen some discussion:  decision?

Early Dimes:  ???

Lets use this forum to finalize these varieties.  When I first did the quarters in 2006 fully 25% of the examples came from copper collectors so we need to get the word out!

Remember, we are guests at the EAC convention but are warmly welcomed.  The only comment I hear from the "pure copper" folks is that they want to see more of us.  If you can drive here, please attend.  If you are far away, please feel free to contact me if you want to learn more about the area and make this  a destination trip for your family:  cascades1787(at)yahoo.com

See you in May

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Rick Beale wrote:

Anyone know where I can get a copy of the book "Early US Dimes 1796 - 1837" by Davis et al ? I'll be at Tampa FUN if that helps.

Ricky B

editor's comment:  When I hear from someone who needs that book, I typically refer them to Rich Uhrich.  Rich typically has a good selection of books, including "EUSD" 
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Dennis Villanucci wrote:

This 1835 Bust Half Dollar (O.105) is counterstamped multiple times with "EXCHANGE HOTEL".  At first look, it appeared to me that the letters were punched individually, but the consistency of the mis-matched lettering styles in each stamping suggests that they were imparted with a prepared punch.  Note that the "E's" in the counterstamp are different, and that this difference is identical in each of the stampings.  Also, the letters in "HOTEL" have no serifs while the lettering in "EXCHANGE" has distinct serifs.

The only reference that I can find for the Exchange Hotel is in Brunk (#21920 -  #21950; Jones Exchange Hotel, 77 Dock St. Phila).  For those examples, the counterstamp is in-line rather than arched as on this 1835 half, and most are on foreign hosts.

Does anyone have further information on this counterstamp?

editor's note:  Click on this image to view a much larger version:

JR Newsletter: 19 December 2010 (15)

Just one contribution this week.

 

Jim Matthews wrote:

 

Congratulations to WZ on finding the late retained cud on the 1834 JR-4 dime! I haven't seen one of those yet and will now be looking for an example with the cud. That's a great find.

 

Russ Logan always said he believed all the reverse dies were used until a cud formed, at least from the period of 1829 on to 1837 from what we've seen, this appears to be true. There were seven reverse dies last used in 1829, but so far JRCS collectors have only found developed cuds on two of those (JR-4 and JR-5 from 1829). By the end of the series in 1837 the last few remaining reverses dies may have been retired for the design chance to the Gobrecht series, but any other dies are fertile grounds for searching to find cuds. There are at least a half dozen dies that were last used in the 1830s with no known cuds on them, so keep on searching!

 

Jim

JR Newsletter: 12 December 2010 (14)

Not much input this week, but the input we have includes images!

Hunter Wunch wrote:

I wanted to share pictures of my 1834 JR-4 which shows die cracks in the area of the discovery CUD.  The first zoomed image doesn't show the crack above the "T", but after shedding some light on the situation you can faintly see it through the crust.  Hope this helps with the die state progression.

Hunter

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Editor's Note:  You can leave comments here on the blog or send contributions to me at jrnewsletter (at) jrcs.org

JR Newsletter: 5 December 2010 (13)

From WZ:

 

Just Discovered 1834 JR-4 Capped Bust Dime with Reverse Cud over IT in UNITED!

 

While I may not be up to date on this particular R3 die marriage, I was unable to locate any examples with die cracks, let alone a Cud, in the area of interest.  Additionally, the EUSD does not mention any die cracks or Cud on this Die Marriage.

 

Upon examining the coin more closely, no other die cracks are visible on the Obverse or Reverse.  The EUSD mentions a crack from "Rim to Upper Leaf" on the reverse, but my example does not exhibit it - likely from its low grade and/or foreign material in that location.

 

This coin joins an extensive list of Capped Bust Dime's with known Cuds.  Per the March 2009 (Vol. 19, Issue 3) JRJ Census, 29 Die Marriages listed the presence of a Cud (Full or Retained), followed shortly thereafter in another JRJ article by the addition of the 1830 JR-2 retained Cud.

 

I would like to know if anyone else has an example of this Cud, or a die crack in this location?  If so, would you mind sharing in a follow-up JR Newsletter so that we can better understand the die progression of this die marriage - whether the reverse die chipped off instantly or exhibited signs of cracking followed by failure.

 

Thanks,

-WZ

 

Images of the coin (click to enlarge photos slightly):

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Mike Camp wrote:

Brad Karoleff wrote on 11-28-10, "I would like to hear suggestions on which die marriages we should present for study at the upcoming EAC/JRCS meeting for the "Happenings" part of the EAC Show..."

 

A reply to Brad Karoleff from Mike Camp former JRCS member #89.

 

I would like to nominate the 1827 O-102 half dollar die marriage.

 

It is a plentiful population marriage, which allows the study of many die stages.
Not only the Obv./Rev. but also it's third edge.
The 1827 O-102 comes in four different edge pairs!
It also falls into an unusually place in the Leaman-Gunnet edge study,
which is very helpful tool in researching die states.

And or maybe answering a question, was 1826 O-114 struck in 1827?
The L/G study shows NO production for O-114 in 1826 using the Edge Order
but it does appear in 1827.

 

I proposed a question to the Coin Zip membership about the possibility of a remarriage
with the 1826 O-114 and possibly adding more information of the useage of a second
screw press in this year.
1827 the most dies used in a year (62) for the series & largest mintage estimate

up to 1831.

 

Now 1826 O-114 and 1827 O-102 are said to share a reverse die.
A member posted a picture of an EDS of 1826 O-114, with a sharp unfilled "N" of United.
But 1827 O-102 does comes in a state with minor filling of the "N" (a radiused bottom),
and the LDS state of 1826 O-114 shows a nearly filled "N".

 

And Brad Higgins stated' "the edge comparison is needed to confirm this.
If the owners of entombed specimens would unshackled theirs.
Further this coin is common enough for many examples to study, whether raw or slabbed.

 

Thanks Mike

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From Jim Matthews:

Recent discussion among the JRCS members includes making available a number of copies of the 1984 Early United States Dimes 1796 - 1837 as there seems to be continuing demand for copies, yet few are available in the marketplace. The copyright of the books lies with the five authors or their estates. I believe this to be a great idea as long as the authors agree, and thankfully am not a lawyer to have to know all the nuances of the law related to these things.

 

On another thought that has been discussed, a second and revised edition of the dime book could be undertaken, one that includes expanded information on die states, remarriages of certain varieties and of course updated rarity ratings, along with the inclusion of the new 1803 JR-5 die variety. Without a doubt, a major revision like this would take considerable time to accomplish, despite the fact that the information, photographs and knowledge would be forthcoming from the many collectors! 

 

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Richard Meaney wrote:

I read Brad Karoleff's request for coins to study at the EAC "Happenings" and thought it would be neat for half dime collectors to offer a "type set of capped bust half dimes."  Most of us don't think too much about the different design types of half dimes, since we are too busy trying to find out if a certain coin has the desired characteristics for a specific die marriage we need or want.  Consider what a type set of capped bust half dimes might entail and how easy it would be to differentiate between the different types while showing a half dime novice the differences:

-Three Pale Gules

-Two Pale Gules

-Border Dentils

-Beaded Dentils

-Narrow Dentils

-Regular Date

-Small Date

-Regular 5C

-Small 5C

-Regular Arrows

-Modified Arrows of 1834 LM-2 and LM-3

I realize that there could be all sorts of additions to the eleven basic design types I have listed, but I wanted to keep the list manageable for whomever gets to show off the coins.  Anyway, I hope my suggestion generates some other discussion on the topic.  Now that I've written all that, I'm sure some of you are scratching your heads, wondering "what modified arrows of 1834" is he talking about?  I don't know if something has ever been written about it, but I sure see a different design type on the arrowheads of 1834 LM-2 and LM-3 half dimes!

JR Newsletter: 28 November 2010 (12)

Brad Karoleff wrote:

A few comments concerning the last newsletter:

  

Per Ricky Beale's question, the JRCS does not keep a condition census for early silver

JRCS does do the early silver coins.  We have a census for each denomination that is reported in order from half dimes through dollars.  All of the dates from the earliest through the end of each series is covered except for the half dollars which have a separate census that is published between the quarters and the Capped Bust series.  We do not keep, in house, a separate updated census.  Some individual collectors do this research on their own.  We would love to see some articles from them on their insights.

Steve's input will give a very good idea of the approximate value of the coin in question.  I think all half dollar collectors should order Steve's AMBR for price research.  He also donates a portion of each sale to the club.  Thanks Steve!

Brad also wrote:

I would like to hear suggestions on which die marriages we should present for study at the upcoming EAC/JRCS meeting for the "Happenings" part of the EAC Show.  Typically, we choose one die marriage from each series collected by JRCS members.  Also, we will need volunteers to staff each table during the happenings part of the show.  Volunteers will answer questions asked about the coins and ensure the coins are secure/accounted for.

Brad

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David J. Davis wrote:

While filing away a few of my recent auction catalogue purchases today, I came across an early C/S dollar for the people keeping track of same.

The George Farrier sale 5/2/1876 Lot 753 listed an 1801 dollar "Fair, but stamped R. & L."  It would be hard to tell what that grade would be equivalent to today, but if someone should have the coin, they now have an early provenance for it.

Also:

Here is a message to all of you who have written an article for the JR Journal or would like to:  Time to fire up your word processors and make a contribution.

I talked to Brad Karoleff yesterday and he needs some more articles for the next issue.  To keep on some kind of schedule Brad needs a steady stream of copy.

NUFF SAID!!!!

David J.

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Glenn Peterson wrote:

A reply to Raymond Hale from Glenn Peterson:

      I appreciate your interest in the reeded edge bust halves. There are reasons for me to NOT include those in my book. The CBH form 1794-1836 lettered edge have the letters, stars, numbers and denomination engraved by hand and have idiosyncrasies in their placement. The engraver extensively modified the portrait and eagle as well leaving their unique traces on each coin. To the best of my knowledge the letters, stars and denomination of reeded edge halves are placed in the HUB and the portrait is not modified as is the case in lettered edge halves. I believe the date is entered separately and does provide some clue as to the die used. Also cracks are used in Reiver's VIM to identify die pairs. Attributing the reeded edge halves is a whole level of higher complexity than attributing lettered edge halves and one I have not mastered.

     The degree of modification of the eagle was the topic of a presentation given by me many years ago at the BHNC meeting at ANA years ago. The task I set for myself to identify all the reverses on 1824 by the eagle alone. Not that this is an easy or useful approach to attributing the 1824 reverses as there are many easier features to use to attribute the reverse of that date. But the fact is that it was POSSIBLE to attribute the dies just from the eagle shows the degree of modification the coiner made to the die before production. This is what makes identification of letter edged bust halves so interesting. I have identified my "key points" for identification of obverse and reverse dies of lettered edge CBH but my buddies in BHNC often choose quite different attribution points when they attribute their coins- equally useful points as the one's I chose for my book.

   Glenn Peterson

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From Jim Matthews in response to Richard Meaney's contribution showing an 1831 LM-3 half dime with cud:

First off, the 1831 LM-3 with the heavy obverse crack--retained cud must be quite rare, as you say, possibly R-7. I obtained one like your lower grade example 3 years ago, and if I'd seen that die state any time in the prior 20 years at a coin show or auction I'd probably have bought it. Furthermore Logan's wasn't nearly that late--with the die section through stars 2 to 6 stable, but the crack appears well developed. Obviously the example of the very late retained cud photographed in the book would be a true prize! I notice that Jules didn't have an example with the retained cud developed either (not in the main section or the back of the auction section of lower grade duplicates). Therefore, two major specialists did not obtain an example of this late die state, a strong indication of rarity.

I define an "early retained cud" as a coin where a portion of the die shows sinking (movement from the die surface level) in a defined area formed by cracks. A middle retained cud is where part of the devices are considerably weaker on at least one part of the cud area. A late retained cud is where these is little definition in the cud area but the opposing area on the opposite side of the coin is still well struck. A full cud is where the cud area has chipped away from the die, and the area opposite on the coin is also weakly struck (dentils/stars/date etc).

Does anyone else out there have an example of this rare die state of the 1831 LM-3 half dime?

JR Newsletter: 21 November 2010 (11)

In response to Rick Beale's questions last week:

Ralph Munoz wrote:  

Hello Rick,

Regarding your question about condition census for your 1807 50c O-105a r.4 - PCGS AU58 from the JRCS Newsletter of Nov 14, 2010.  Very interesting question about your coin and condition census.

Your coin is listed as an R4, with 80 to 200 known survivors.  You may want to get addition information or an opinion from Steve Herrman, who publishes the "Auctions & Mail Prices Realized for Bust Half Dollars 1794 - 1839" (AMBPR) at Herrman102 (at) aol.com.  He has been keeping track of this type of information for many years.  Your coin may be a condition census coin and could be tied with other multiple AU58's until additional higher grade coins become known.

Ralph Munoz JRCS # 30

and Steve Herrman wrote:

Per Ricky Beale's question, the JRCS does not keep a condition census for early silver.

With the caveat that I have not tracked the provenance of every specimen, following is a list in order of approximate overall "perceived value" of the 1807 O.105a half dollars offered in major auctions in the past 10 years or so.

  1. PCGS MS63, Bowers&Merena (Orlando) Jan 2001, Lot 194, not sold

  2. (uncertified) MS63, Stack's Jun 2006, Lot 566, $7475

  3. PCGS(CAC) AU58, D. Lawrence (Picky Collection) Mar 2010, Lot 7041, $7188

  4. NGC(CAC) AU58, Heritage (Long Beach) Jun 2010, Lot 737, $6325

NGC AU58, Stack's (Berngard) July 2008, Lot 4269, $7475

  5. NGC MS61, *slide mark on cheek, B&M (ANA-Los Angeles) Aug 2009, Lot 1284, $6038

NGC MS61, *slide mark on cheek, Heritage (Long Beach) Feb 2009, Lot 1262, $5463

NGC MS61, *slide mark on cheek, Heritage (Long Beach) Feb 2005, Lot 6949, $5175

NGC MS61, *slide mark on cheek, Heritage (ANA-Portland) Mar 2004, Lot 5805, not sold

  6. PCGS AU58, Heritage (FUN-Orlando) Jan 2007, Lot 4340, $5175

  7. PCGS AU58, Superior (Pre-Long Beach) Feb 2007, Lot 1516, $4945

  8. PCGS AU58, *thin scratch obverse, B&M (Baltimore), Jun 2010, Lot 2201, $4602

Regards,

Steve Herrman

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Liz Coggan wrote:

Thank you to all who participated in the sealed bid auction J J Teaparty conducted during the Whitman Baltimore coin show, for the 1800 LM-4 R-7 half dime in F-15+ grade. The coin sold for a strong price of $8,643.00

Please note, we will be conducting another sealed bid auction for another classic rarity in the Draped Bust half dime series at the FUN show in Tampa, FL in January.  We will be selling the 1801 LM-1 Rarity-7 which is VG-8 in condition.  A picture of the piece is below --as you can see the coin is dark, so we encourage you to review the coin in person in Tampa.  The bidding will commence at $6,500.  Please contact me if you have interest in bidding and if you desire further details. 

Best wishes,

Liz Coggan

You can click on this image to view a larger version

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Jeff Oertel wrote:

 

As a follow up on David's counterstamp listing, I am sending out a request. I am trying to compile a list of known counterstamps on bust dollars. I have the two editions of the counterstamp book, the three articles by David in past issues of JRCS, some records I have kept from past auctions and have about 20 examples of my own. If I can figure out how to make an article interesting, I thought that I would write something for a future edition of the Journal. Any assistance would be appreciated. Jeff Oertel

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Brad Karoleff wrote:

The JRCS Bust Dollar census will be the next census published in the JR Journal.  Please send your census information to one of the following addresses:

If you would like to send via US Mail:

John Reich Collectors Society
PO Box 135
Harrison, OH 45030-0135 

If you would like to send via e-mail:

bkaroleff (at) yahoo.com

editor's note:  Be sure to use the @ symbol when you send Brad an email.  I eliminate the @ symbol in this online posting so spammers won't pick up on email addresses and flood inboxes with junk. 

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Van (JRCS 1300) wrote:

Heritage Auctions has a nice variety collection of Capped Bust half dollars in our 2011 FUN auction. At this moment, I have the following three on my desk for cataloging:

1823 O-113 Genuine PCGS (Fine, lightly cleaned)

1827 O-148 Fine 15 PCGS

1831 O-120 AU53 NGC

The collection includes many other desirable pieces and catalog descriptions are now appearing at coins.ha.com.

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Raymond Hale wrote: 

I've long wondered why, within the framework of the JRCS, we end our study of Bust-Half coinage in 1836.

The Red Book includes mintages through 1839; various other well-known price guides use the same cutoff date. The design is, from what I have learned so far, basically the same--at least in terms of general motifs.

Yet, Overton ends in 1836. Peterson, et al, use the same apparently accepted and standard cutoff date.

So, wherein lies the answer? I have some thoughts--really they are questions. Is it because of the changes and advancements in minting technology employed beginning in 1837? Does it stem from the difference in coinage-diameter and/or design changes that those advancements wrought? Why do we start with Robert Scot's and continue with William Kneass' designs? And why not include the work of Christian Gobrecht?

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