JR Newsletter: 20 January 2013 (124)

Winston Zack wrote:

I spent 3 days at the FUN show (Wednesday to Friday).  I had a great time despite my allergies kicking me in the face; although I'm not sure which would have been better, freezing in Chicago or having warm Florida weather and allergies!?!  I had a very successful show.  I was able to add 6 or 7 Capped Bust Dimes to my die marriage collection - 3 new die marriages and 3-4 more upgrades, including some of the tougher R5 die marriages.  My collection of Capped Bust Dime die marriages is now at 115 out of 123, and that number may soon grow to 116 or 117!

My collection aside, I was finally able to attend my first JRCS meeting on Friday morning.  It was great!  David Finkelstein gave a great presentation on "die punches and group-strength" of early gold coins.  I was also able to finally put A LOT of names to faces.  That was by far the quickest hour of the show for me.

To finish, I picked up an extra 1837 LM-2 Capped Bust Half Dime.  I have two examples now, one in VF-30 and the other I would call VF-35, and I only need one in my collection.  If anyone here reading this is interested in adding one of these examples to their collection please email me (stoneman101 (at) gmail.com) and I will send you pics and my asking price(s).

Cheers,
Winston

Editor's Note:  I saw the 1837 LM-2 half dime that Winston got at the show and thought it to be a very attractive piece.
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Richard Meaney wrote:

Wow!  What a great show FUN 2013 was!  Not only did I add two significant half dimes to my collection, but also I got to work behind a dealer's table for the first time at a major show.

First, the progress on the collection:  A fellow collector alerted me a couple of months ago to an 1829 LM-12 half dime that he and another person had found and were attempting to cross into a PCGS holder.  The 1829 LM-12 die marriage is an R-6 coin and I was excited at the prospect of an upgrade.  Two hours into the FUN Show, he found me and told me that the coin was waiting for me in its new PCGS AU55 holder.  I went to see it and bought it on the spot.  No haggling required, as I had been searching for an upgrade for this die marriage for YEARS.  If that wasn't enough, I had the good fortune to make a win-win trade with another collector.  I traded a VGish 1832 LM-9.2 half dime (a strong R-7 remarriage) for a raw 1829 LM-8 half dime (a strong R-6).  During the show I submitted the 1829 half dime to PCGS and received it back on Saturday morning in an AU-55 holder.  To say I was ecstatic about adding two R-6 half dimes to my collection at one show would be a significant numismatic understatement!

Second, I had a wonderful time working with Rich Uhrich, proprietor of Rich Uhrich Rare Coins.  I worked "on the other side of the table" on both Friday and Saturday.  It was great fun and a huge learning experience to help Rich in the purchase and sale of many coins.  I got to meet a lot of people, many of whom are likely reading this newsletter right now!  I got to handle and show some ultra-rare coins that Rich had in his inventory.  One thing that really surprised me was how red-hot Bust Dimes were at this show.  Collectors and dealers alike were snapping up Bust Dimes in all grades from well-circulated to Mint State.  If my schedule permits, I hope to do this again at the Summer ANA!

Images of my two Capped Bust Half Dime acquisitions are below (1829 LM-12 first, then 1829 LM-8):

JR Newsletter: 13 January 2013 (123)

There should be LOTS more to report next week (including a report about experiences at the FUN Show by this newsletter's editor), but for this week, I have just one item...a BLOCKBUSTER!

The Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society is selling some of its items from the extensive collection assembled over 90-plus years.  All sale proceeds will be used to support various not-for-profit organizations as well as continuing the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society's mission of funding operations and exhibits at the Newman Money Museum at Washington University in St. Louis.

Eric P. Newman, now almost 102 years of age, remains an American numismatist still engaged in scholarly writing and research.  He hopes that others will be able to share his excitement and passion for numismatics and enjoy the history, artistry, and collecting of these items.

For any inquiries, please contact Stuart Levine at stuartlevine (at) comcast.net

JR Newsletter: 6 January 2013 (122)

No contributions this week.  Perhaps some quick post-FUN reports will arrive in time for publication next Sunday? 

If you are attending FUN, some things you can look forward to (based on recent contributions to this newsletter):

-Sheridan Downey has some enticing bust halves for sale (table 213)
-Rich Uhrich has an 1806 O-108 half in PCGS F-12 available via auction (table 312)

In other FUN news:

If you wish to meet the author of "A Registry of Die Varieties of Reeded Edge Half Dollars 1836-1839," you should stop by Rich Uhrich's table on Wednesday afternoon (for early birds) or Thursday and say hello to Dick Graham.

If you are truly unable to find something more enjoyable to do at the FUN show and wish to meet the editor of this newsletter, I too will be at Rich Uhrich's table, albeit on different days than Dick Graham.  I will be there on Friday and Saturday, except for lunch time, of course.

Happy hunting if you do attend FUN.  I hope to see many of you there!

JR Newsletter: 30 December 2012 (121)

Welcome to the last JR Newsletter for 2012.  This week, our one contribution has some important information from Sheridan Downey:

The big news this week has to be Dave Olmstead's announcement that he is retiring after the FUN Show.  Dave, the sole owner of Alpine Numismatics, has been a colleague, mentor and friend for more than 2 decades.  I will miss him ... as much for has wry wit as his depth of numismatic knowledge.  His "war stories" are endless, intriguing, insightful and always fun to hear.  Let's hope he publishes his memoirs after he tires of climbing mountains.

To some collectors a more surprising announcement will be my publication of a significant Fixed Price List.  I'm waiting for photos of a few coins before posting the List on my obsolete and neglected web site, www.sheridanscoins.com.  The offering of over 70 bust half-dollars, 1801 through 1833, will focus on scarce and rare die marriages in grades Fair through AU.  It should hit the Internet by the end of the week.  I will, of course, have the coins with me at the FUN Show in Orlando, Jan. 9-12.  Anxious collectors who wish an advance copy of the FPL may email me now at sdowney3 (at) aol.com, indicating a preference for PDF or XLS format.

Thanks so much for your continued heroic efforts in editing and publishing the weekly newsletter.  No easy task, especially during the holidays.

All the best,
 Sheridan

Editor's Note:  Sheridan's table is listed in the FUN Program as number 213

JR Newsletter: 23 December 2012 (120)

We have an important announcement from Rich Uhrich headlining our newsletter this week:

RICH UHRICH ANNOUNCES AN 1806 O-108 HALF (R-7) WILL BE OFFERED AT FUN 

The 1806 O-108 half dollar is the Knob 6, No Stem Through Claw variety, which has been highly sought-after for decades.  This coin has been graded PCGS Fine-12.  There are 7 known 1806 O-108 half dollars.  This coin has been referred to as the Pennsylvania specimen. 

 

The 1806 O-108 half in PCGS F-12 will be offered for sale at the FUN show by sealed bid closing Friday, January 11 at 4 pm EST.  At that time, the bids will be opened, the winning bid will be declared and the winning bidder notified.  Payment is due by 2 pm Saturday, January 12.  For an absentee bidder, other payment arrangements will be made.  The minimum bid is $97,000.  The coin will be on display at Rich Uhrich’s table #312 at the FUN show. 

Below is an image of the 1806 O-108 half in PCGS F-12.

Rich Uhrich

 Click on the image to enlarge it.

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Jeff Reichenberger provided a few comments about the latest JR Journal:

It was a slow day at the shop, so at midday I cracked open my latest JR Journal to peruse as I slurped my soup. It didn't take long to be sucked into the vortex of David Finkelstein's obsessions. I found myself counting and re-counting, reading and re-reading about stars and azure lines until I actually understood! Never have I had so much pleasure self-inducing bloodshot eyes and a headache. During the time I was engrossed in the two Finkelstein articles I noticed I had three voicemails, which lead me to theorize that I thrice completely ignored the phone ringing!! Further reading brought several fine articles and when I turned the last page and looked at my watch, lo and behold, it was quittin' time! Thanks to the authors and editor for another great JR Journal! No better way to kill a day.

Jeff

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Finally, a note from the editor:

Paul Hybert provided me some excellent troubleshooting advice that should help me to try to minimize the instances of people receiving two email copies of the weekly JR Newsletter.  Unfortunately, with family and friends visiting this week and next, I have not had time to test these new solutions.  So at least for the time being, I will continue to inconvenience trillions of electrons.  Enjoy the holidays.

JR Newsletter: 16 December 2012 (119)

First this week, an editor's note:  Some people have reported receiving two email copies of the JR Newsletter.  I can assure you that I have absolutely no clue why that is happening.  I'm not as tech savvy as I would like to be.  As Dick Kurtz wrote when he reported the problem of two issues being delivered to his inbox: "That's better than none!"

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Also, Tom Little wrote:

I had success with NCS conserving this 1818 Bust half dollar:  http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=6181227&fpart=1

The interesting thing was that extremely experienced dealers wrote the coin off as hopeless....NCS charged me $20 plus $15 for grading the conserved coin.

Tom
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Yours truly (Richard Meaney) has some recent half dime adventures to share:

Those of us who peruse ebay looking for coins in our area(s) of interest have probably had an experience like this:

You are scanning ebay for coins and you notice a coin that looks promising.  The coin might be really well-struck, attractive, choice for grade, or maybe even a rare die marriage.  So you add the coin to your "watch list" with the intent of checking it out later…when you have more time to study the coin and the auction listing.  Most of the time, when you finally get around to studying the coin (hopefully, before the auction closed!), you find that the coin really is not as nice as you first thought or that it had an obverse of a rare die marriage, but the reverse didn't match up and the coin was a more common variety.

This story is different.  I noticed a beat-up half dime on ebay that looked like a rare remarriage.  I would need to study it further to determine that.  I could tell from a quick glance that the coin was probably cleaned and damaged.  So I added it to my watch list, where it sat for a few days.  A day before the auction closed, I decided to study it more carefully.  I try to convince myself after studying a coin that it truly is NOT the die marriage or remarriage that I first thought it was, so I work hard at proving my first instinct to be incorrect.  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't succeed at disproving the conclusion of my first, quick-scan attribution.

Long story short, I recently bid on and won an 1832 LM-9.2 Capped Bust Half Dime.  This "Holy Grail" die remarriage is in extremely short supply.  Confirmed examples include the Logan-McCloskey plate coin and a PCGS AU-58 that I have in my collection.  There was a G-4 example reported in the most recent JRCS census, but that coin was shown to be an 1832 LM-8 a little less than a year ago (I have forgotten which specific LM-8 die remarriage it is).  I consider the 1832 LM-9.2 to be an R7+ die remarriage in the Capped Bust Half Dime series.  

Here are photos I took of the coin (click on images to enlarge them):

 

If that's not enough half dime coolness for you, I have also provided images a neat example of a clip on a half dime that also came from ebay during the past week:

 

Richard

JR Newsletter: 9 December 2012 (118)

Glenn Peterson wrote:

Hi JRCS members,

     I have received copies of the fourth edition of my Ultimate Guide to Atributing Bust Half Dollars.  The fourth edition has revised pricing of the rarer die marriages and a list of the current rarity ratings for each year. I am offering FREE SHIPPING until January 1 at $90 a copy. If interested contact me at gpeters (at) tds.net

Thanks,
Glenn Peterson

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Ron Guth wrote:

Thanks to Julian Leidman and Daniel Stepan for their help with the 1794 O-104a Half Dollar.  Their responses confirmed that I came to the right place.

Best wishes,
Ron Guth