JR Newsletter: 2 November 2014 (213)

John Okerson wrote:

Wanted: Jules Reiver's 1984 edition, "Variety Identification Manual for United States Half Dimes, 1794-1837."  If anyone has a copy and is willing to part with it, please contact me at johnokerson(at)gmail.com or 901.338.8999

John Okerson from Lakeland, TN

------

Michael Rocco wrote:

I was looking at the early dime lots for the Gardner collection and on review of lot 98227, the 1804 14 star dime, I noticed two aspects of the coin that I would like to get others to comment on.  On the obverse, the E and R in "Liberty" appear to have a somewhat different shape than what I have seen on other  dimes of this variety. On the coin in question, the bottom horizontal bar of the E seems shorter than the typical E punch (including the Es on the reverse of this coin). The flag on the top of the R seems to point up instead of remain horizontal and the bottom horizontal bar of the R is thinner at the upright crossbar than the typical R punch (including the R on the reverse of the coin).  On the reverse, (which corresponds to the location of the letters ER in "Liberty" on the obverse) the eagle's tail feathers have a very strong and detailed appearance that I have not seen on even mint state dimes of this variety. 

Sincerely,
Mike

------

The owner of the Easton Collection wrote with commentary on the Gardner dimes that recently sold in Baltimore:

My review of Gene Gardner’s Bust dimes in Heritage’s November 2014 auction

By Easton Collection

On Monday, October 27, 2014, the second part of Gene Gardner’s magnificent coin collection was sold by Heritage in NYC at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The auction started at 1pm and about 50 people were in attendance including Gene and his family with a lot more in attendance via Heritage Live. Included in his collection was a group of some of the finest draped and capped bust dimes available. It’s a rare treat to see so many wonderful coins being offered at one time. Overall, I thought that the draped bust coins sold for prices at my expectation except for the 1804 dimes that sold for less than I expected and the capped bust dimes selling for strong money.

Since the auction was held in NYC several blocks from my office, I had a chance to attend the auction and spend several hours at lot viewing. Below are some observations of the dimes:

1796 JR-3 in NGC63 – The coin has been pedigreed back to 1956 and this coin is very rare with a really triangular die break that has the looks of a really cool cud on the reverse at 11:00. This coin is believed to be the finest known of this die marriage and I thought that NGC graded the coin properly.  I gave this coin a pre-auction estimate of $30k to $35k and the coin sold for $30,550.

1801 JR-1 in NGC65 CAC – This coin has wonderful color and looks very original. This coin was once owned by Norweb and it’s the finest known. This is a rarity 4 coin. One feature of this coin is die rust running throughout the obverse. The reverse has typical weakness in the eagle’s breast and this coin is no different. My pre estimate price was $125k and this coin didn’t disappoint me at $111,625. The winner of this coin should be very proud to acquire such a wonderful coin.

1804 JR-1 in PCGS53 and JR-2 in PCGSAU50 – I can’t remember when both 1804 die marriages were offered in auction since the Price auction; and any time one example is offered it's considered special. Over the past year, there have been several JR-2 offered in auction but Gene’s AU50 was the highest graded offered. Overall, the JR-2 has nice color with great details as its well struck. Both 1804 coins were sold for $125,375 to one collector and in my opinion he got a great deal! My pre-auction estimate had both coins selling for $90k each and I wouldn’t have been surprised if either one sold for as high as $125k.

1811/9 JR-1 in NGC65 – This date is one of my personal favorites but I really didn’t like this coin. The coin had a color that looked very unnatural to me and was slightly over graded by 1 point. This date in gem condition is hardly ever offered at shows or auctions so I really didn’t know what to expect. I had thought a solid gem could sell for about $30k but this coin was short of being a gem. The market place agreed with me and the coin sold for $18,800. This price was fair for the coin.

1821 JR-9 (small date) in PCGS64 – The small date variety is slightly rarer than the large date but this coin I thought had the possibly of achieving a record price. This coin was pedigreed to Alan Lovejoy and when offered in 1990 it was offered as a proof or presentation piece. Back in 1990, the coin sold for $8k. This coin is brilliantly toned in yellow and blue. This coin has fantastic eye appeal and this coin was the best graded 64 that I have ever seen. Some collectors in attendance commented to me that they felt the coin was artificially toned but I disagreed. The coin looked exactly like the plate coin when it was auctioned off in 1990! This coin sold for $15,275 which is double PCGS price guide.

1824/2 JR-1 in NGC66 – What can I say – this is my favorite date in the series and I don’t remember when a 66 was ever offered. This coin is richly toned and has an above average strike for this date. Many believe that this coin could be tied for the finest known. The coin demonstrates multi-colored toning and has very clean surfaces. My pre-auction estimate was $25k and the price realized was a staggering $70,500! I was shocked at the price it realized.

1828 JR-1 in PCGS 65 CAC – This coin is pedigreed to the Eliasberg collection and further pedigreed way back to 1899. The coin is very brilliant with the fields very reflective. The devices are fully frosty and this coin is very well struck. The pre-auction estimate was $20k and it realized a very strong $28,200.

1828 JR-2 in NGC64 - The 1828 large date coin is the last year of the large size capped bust dimes and any appearance of this variety is rare. The coin was beautifully toned but I thought that this coin was flat looking. Over the years, I saw only one mint state JR2 offered in over 10 years.  I thought that this coin was going to sell for very strong money. My pre-auction estimate was $20k and the coin sold for $28,200!

 1831 JR-5 in PCGS66 CAC – This wonderfully bluish gold toned coin has very clean surfaces and was extremely well struck. The coin is originally toned and very rare to find a bust dime this nice. My pre-auction estimate was $17k and it realized $20,560.

1834 JR-1 in PCGS 67 CAC- It's hard to believe that a coin over 180 years old can be preserved in such great condition, but in reviewing this coin one can only say that it's magnificent in every way. The surfaces are almost perfect with beautiful amber and lavender toning on both sides. The strike is very strong with the Eagle talons' details very well defined. A special coin and my pre-estimate price was $40k and but it realized a soft $32,900. BTW – PCGS price guide is $37,500.

1837 JR-4 in PCGS65 CAC - This date is very desirable as it’s the last year for the capped bust dimes. The coin is attractively toned in golden brown with shades of green. The surfaces are very clean and I believe that this coin is a possible upgrade. My pre-auction estimate was $15k and it sold for $21,150.

In conclusion, there were many very high grade bust dimes and anyone that acquired one of Gene’s coins should be very proud. Congratulations to all the winners. Gene personally congratulated each winner in attendance and shared a short story about his coins. In the end, I was glad to be in attendance for such a great auction and see these magnificent coins getting sold.

JR Newsletter: 26 October 2014 (212)

Jim Matthews wrote with this week's sole contribution:

There will be a regional meeting of JRCS at the Baltimore convention on Friday, October 31. The time is 4 PM in room 305. I'll be talking about contemporary counterfeits and whatever else comes up. A great way to celebrate Halloween!

Jim

JR Newsletter: 18 October 2014 (211)

This week's edition is a day earlier, allowing the editor time to take a mini-vacation with family.

Dr. Eugene Bruder wrote concerning an error in an article entitled, "The Quiet 1805 Half Dime, with discussion of the Pittman coin in the upcoming Stack's Bowers Auction."

I just read the above referenced article, and noticed what I believe is an error. The 1805 Half dime pictured in the article appears to be an 1805 dime! The diameter in the NGC holder looks too large to be a half dime. It looks to be an 1805 JR-2 dime. Most interesting! The most obvious attribution point is the 5 in the date, and then the 8 is the wrong shape too. It makes you wonder about the grading services-you must always check their work!

I don’t know if anyone else has pointed this out.

Dr. Eugene Bruder, Numismatist

------

In response to Paul Hybert's announcement of a beta version of the JRCS website, Barbara Bailey wrote:

Just wanted to let you know that the new web site is very well organized and easy to use.  I use a small laptop.  Kudos to everyone who is working on it!

Barbara Bailey

------

A reminder from the editor:

When sending contributions to the JR Newsletter, please address such correspondence to jrnewsletter@jrcs.org (old gmail address is just that…and old address!). 

JR Newsletter: 12 October 2014 (210)

This week's version of the JR Newsletter features an additional biographical sketch of a member of the JRCS Hall of Fame, news about the JRCS web page, and some other interesting information.

First, Louis Scuderi provided a short comment about a dime attribution mentioned last week.  He wrote:  "1834 JR8?"

His contribution qualifies as likely the shortest in the brief history of the newsletter, but he makes a good point.  The dime in question was an 1835 dated dime…so the comment last week should have identified the dime as an 1835 JR8.  Sorry for any confusion that may have created.  I replied to Louis that when you put a half dime guy in charge of a newsletter, these kinds of things are bound to happen (for all denominations but half dimes).

------

George Polizio wrote to add another piece of information about JRCS Hall of Fame member Stewart Witham:

I just wanted to add something to the biography of Stew Whitham. Stew probably amassed the most comprehensive collection of tokens that were struck for Augustus B. Sage by George H. Lovett. These were included in Bowers & Merenas sale of the Miller collection Nov. 1992.

------

Steve Crain provided an excellent biographical sketch of JRCS Hall of Fame member Dr. Daniel Valentine:

Dr. Daniel Webster Valentine

March 7, 1863 – January 24, 1932

Stephen A. Crain

Daniel W. Valentine was born in New York City, on March 7, 1863. Little is known of his early years, except that he was educated in public and private schools, and later received his D.D.S. from the New York College of Dentistry in 1887. With the exception of one year spent in Vienna, he practiced dentistry in New York City from 1887 to 1896, and later moved to Englewood, New Jersey, where he practiced for another thirty-five years.

He married Ada Belle Colwell in 1896, with whom he had two daughters, Marion and Margaret Beattie Valentine.

Dr. Valentine became interested in numismatics very early in life, and although he was a general collector, he confined himself primarily to United States issues. He was very active in several numismatic organizations, including the American Numismatic Association, American Numismatic Society, and the New York Numismatic Club, for which he served as President for two terms, in 1918 and 1920. He was commemorated on a New York Numismatic Club Presidential medal, designed by J. M. Swanson, of which there were eight silver and fifty bronze medals struck.

Valentine assembled several notable collections, including a comprehensive collection of United States fractional currency, for which he published Fractional Currency of the United States in 1924. This publication was issued in a cloth bound edition of 225 copies at $5.00 each, and in a limited, leather bound edition of twenty-five numbered copies at $15.00 each. He also assembled a collection of United States one dollar gold coins, complete by mintmark.

Dr. Valentine is perhaps best remembered for his extensive collection of United States half dimes, which he exhibited at the American Numismatic Society in 1914. He published his monograph United States Half Dimes in 1931, with the American Numismatic Society, as #48 in their series Numismatic Notes and Monographs. This work has been reprinted twice, in 1975 by Quarterman Publications, and again in 1984 by Sanford J. Durst. In each of the reprints, the original photographic plates were copied, but were printed as ‘screen’ prints, comprised of a series of dots, like a newspaper photo, which cannot be magnified or enlarged for greater detail. Collectors and researchers are advised to locate a copy of the original ANS NNM #48 for its quality ‘collotype’ prints of the photographic plates, which like a photograph can be magnified for detailed study. For the Liberty Seated series alone, Valentine identified 257 different die marriages, greatly expanding upon the previous work of Will W. Neil, published in The Numismatist in 1927. While some of the die descriptions in the Valentine half dime reference are vague and ambiguous, and it often appears that he was unaware of the distinction between die marriage and die state, he provided us with the most comprehensive reference on the series to date. Critics might argue that his die descriptions, particularly for the post Civil War dates, are so brief as to be almost meaningless, but I suspect that some of this brevity might be attributed to an imposed publishing deadline. Valentine published his monograph late in 1931, and died, evidently of apoplexy, or stroke, on January 24, 1932. As a medical professional, he would have been acutely aware of his declining health, and apparently rushed to complete his work before health issues would no longer allow him to continue.

All of Dr. Valentine’s collections were sold at public auction prior to his death by Thomas Elder, in three sessions, on December 8, 9, and 10, 1927, in New York City, except for his remarkable collection of half dimes, which remained intact at the time of his death.

------

Finally, JRCS web master Paul Hybert wrote with some exciting news about the JRCS web site:

Some club members have been working on a new look for the club's web site, and we have a first effort.  Please look at the first draft at:  www.jrcs.org/BETA/

The main points of the new style are: a navigation bar at the top of the page (with drop down selections for some items -- hover your mouse over an item, and a menu will appear for some items), a banner below the navigation bar, the text now has smooth left and right margins (ragged right was the old way), and each paragraph starts with indented text.

In the future, the same banner will be used on all pages.  Because we have not agreed upon a banner, one appears on only the top of the main page.  Please submit an image for a banner -- let it be 1,000 pixels wide, and 200 pixels tall.  The submitted images will be added to the bottom of the main page as they are received at jrcsweb(at)yahoo.com, and we hope to decide upon a new banner by the start of 2015.

The only pages that do NOT have the new look are the various JR Journal indexes: by-author, by-subject, and by-issue.  But these pages' content have been updated -- start at the navigation bar, and follow Publications -->> Journal Index to see all of the indexes into the JR Journal.  Were you aware these were on the old web site?

Let us know if we left something out, if something is hard to find, or something seems awkward.  We want pages that look good on a large browser window on a desktop monitor, and also look good on a smart phone's display.  We want pages that a browser can download quickly, so we prefer text over images, and small-sized image files over larger-sized files.  Our site is hosted for free from a simple server: no java-enabled apps, no search engines, no member logins, and no user uploads.

JR Newsletter: 5 October 2014 (209)

In response to Kevin Coleman's inquiry last week, John Okerson wrote:

The 1834 Capped Bust Dime sure looks to be a JR-8 to me.  Using Early United States Dimes 1796-1837,  page 232, on the reverse the upper arrow shaft is detached, the scroll beginning and ending is correct too.

------

Chuck Allen wrote with a follow up of Richard Meaney's presentation of a Stewart Witham biographical sketch:

Additional note on Witham's coins.

I believe most of the Witham Bust Half collection was sold privately to an investor and these coins later came to public auction through Heritage.

Many of Stewart Witham's Capped Bust Halves were sold in August 2010 at Heritage Auction #1143 and also in the "Sunday and Tuesday" Internet only  auction # 210083 , both of which can be searched on Heritage's archived auctions with images available.  Scroll down "limit results to" and find the August 2010 auctions and select 1143 or 210083, they are listed separately, put Witham in upper search, select bust half dollars from the scroll down menu and "titles and descriptions" then search.

I hope this is helpful to those who want to see some images of the CBH's of the Stewart Witham Collection.

Chuck Allen #1404

------

Paul Kluth also commented on the Witham biographical sketch:

The bio was very helpful in getting to know a prominent member of JRCS from the past.  I would like to see other important members from the past also honored and not missed for the Society's Hall of Fame in the near future.  Thx!

Paul

JR Newsletter: 28 September 2014 (208)

We have three contributions this week.  The first is from Kevin Coleman:

Hello,  I am trying to be able to identify which variation I have.  Because of the style of the 8 I believe it to be either a JR-6, JR-7 , or JR-8 (or possibly JR-9?)

Can you identify which I have or direct me to where I might be able to get the answer?

Thank you in advance,

Kevin Coleman

(Editor's note:  Click on the image to open a larger version)

------

Garrett Ziss wrote:

Thank you for the information last week, Mr. Tompkins.  Like you mentioned, it's a neat way to connect a coin to a specific point in history.

The dates of the delivery warrants are interesting. The White House was burned on August 24, 1814 so I would think that the Mint employees would have known about this when the first set of coins were delivered to the Treasurer of the Mint on September 12. The next day, the Battle of Ft. McHenry started and the Mint employees could hear the cannon fire in Baltimore as they were striking coins. The war was getting closer.  I live outside of Philadelphia and have been to Baltimore several times, so I know these cities aren't that far apart.

At the ANA convention last month, Mr. Finkelstein gave a presentation on the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1797 and how the Mint shut down during the epidemic. They had a specific plan on how they would shut down. Even though the Mint was still striking coins during the War of 1812, did the Mint have some sort of plan (as they did with Yellow Fever) to shut down or hide equipment and supplies if the war moved to Philadelphia? If the British captured the Mint, our country would have been in serious trouble.  Of course, the British never got to Philadelphia, but the Mint didn't know what was going to happen during the war.

Garrett Ziss (JRCS 1465)

------

Richard Meaney wrote:

Here is the biographical sketch intended for inclusion on the JRCS Hall of Fame web page for Stewart Witham:

Stewart "Stew" Witham was described by Bowers and Merena, in the company's catalog for a September 14-15, 1992 auction, as "one of America's best known numismatists". That catalog is a source for this biographical sketch of Stew Witham.

Stew Witham was born in 1916 in New York City.  He graduated from Miami University of Ohio in 1938.  He then went on to a career in property and casualty insurance, with his last eleven years in the industry as president of the Leonard Agency in Canton, Ohio.

Stew and his spouse, Merriam (Myers), were married in 1942.  They had one son, Walter Todd Witham. 

Outside of numismatics, Witham was active in many organizations, including the board of trustees of The Presbyterian Church, chairman and president of offices within the YMCA, campaign chairman for the United Way, Man of the Year for the Jaycees, and club president, district governor, and recipient of the Paul Harris Award with Rotary International.  Witham provided several years of military service during World War II. 

He started his foray into numismatics in 1960 when he began collecting Capped Bust half dollars by Beistle varieties.  His interest soon spread to Capped Bust half dimes by Valentine numbers, and then to Assay Commission and American Numismatic Society medals, early half dollar patterns, and medals relating to engraver John Reich and his father, Johann Christian Reich, who was also an engraver.

Witham authored many articles in numismatic publications, including eight articles in the John Reich Journal, and contributed to the publications of many other authors.  In 1993, Witham wrote and published the only known biography of John Reich, “Johann Matthäus Reich, Also Known as John Reich”.

Witham was active in many numismatic organizations, including the American Numismatic Association, the American Numismatic Society, and the Token and Medal Society.  Witham also held membership number one in the Bust Half Nut Club!  Witham also specialized in material relating to President William McKinley and Treasury - Mint medals.

Those interested in the coins of Stew Witham will find two auction catalogs especially helpful.  The first included Witham's half dimes: 1977 Central States Numismatic Society Annual Convention Auction Sale, Featuring the Harley L. Freeman Collection, Milwaukee, WI May 13-15, 1977, conducted by Rarcoa.  Of note, there is no printed attribution of the half dimes in the catalog to the Witham collection.  The second catalog included Witham's counterstamped half dollars, Assay Commission medals, and Washington tokens and medals: The Witham and Sansoucy Collections and other Important Properties, Bowers and Merena, September 14-15, 1992.

JR Newsletter: 21 September 2014 (207)

A number of interesting contributions this week…  we start with Steve Tompkins, who responded to last week's contributions from both Garrett Ziss and Winston Zack.

Steve Tompkins wrote:

This is in response to Garrett's question:

The Mint delivery records show two deliveries of bust halves in September 1814.

Delivery #725 - 9/12/1814 - 60,164

Delivery #727 - 9/19/1814 - 31,800

Let's look at some facts and statistics to see if we can determine if your coin was indeed struck during the battle at Fort McHenry...

Other than two R-4 die marriages, the other seven for the year are currently R-1 to R-3.

The total number of bust halves delivered for 1814 is 1,039,075.

If we just take this number and divide it by nine (the number of die marriages for the year), we get 115,453 coins struck per die marriage.

There is no way to determine exactly how many actual coins were struck with each die marriage due to the unknown amount of attrition for each marriage.

Even based on rarity we can not narrow it down to a more accurate number, as an R-1 can only be stated as containing more than 1250 coins still in existence and this is open ended.

But we can certainly state that the R-4 die marriages should contain 81-200 coins still remaining out of the original amount struck.

The most often stated survival rate for early bust coinage is about 3%, however for the bust halves, I would state that it could be as high as 5-10%, due to the banks keeping a large amount in their vaults.

If we take the 10% number, then for the R-4 die marriages there should have been at least 810 - 2000 coins originally struck. Even if this number is lowered to 5%, we are looking at 1620-4000 coins originally struck.

According to the Leman-Gunnett emission sequence, the last two die marriage struck in 1814 were O-103 & O-106. O-106 is currently an R-4 die marriage.

Only those coins produced and delivered in the last delivery of bust halves for the year could have possibly been struck during the battle.

The last delivery (#727) on 9/19/1814 contained 31,800 bust halves. If we subtract the possible amount of coins struck utilizing the dies of the O-106 die marriage, we still have at least 27,800 coins left over that could have been struck by the dies of the O-103 die marriage. As the O-103 is currently an R-1, most likely all of those remaining coins and some of the prior delivery were of the O-103 die marriage.

 So, the answer to the question is most likely yes...your coin could have been struck during the battle, but there were O-103's struck before and probably after the battle as well.

This is a neat way to connect a coin to a specific point in history!

Steve M. Tompkins

(JRCS 726)

-- 

This is in response to Winston Zack:

It is called the "Group Die Theory" and was originally proposed by Robert P. Hilt II in his 1980 book, Die Varieties of Early United States Coins.

Steve M. Tompkins

(JRCS 726)

------

H Craig Hamling also wrote in response to Winston Zack:

At my factory we would call that a pre-production plan.
Perhaps that is what you recall.

H Craig Hamling

------

Sheridan Downey wrote with a request for me to reveal something about one of our newer contributors (Garrett Ziss).  Sheridan wrote:

Richard, be sure to tell your readers that Garrett is all of 11 years old.  In another 11 years I suspect that he will be the world's foremost expert on bust half-dollars and, perhaps, other early US coinage.

Best,

Sheridan

------

Winston Zack wrote with a request for assistance from readers of the JR Newsletter:

I am putting the finishing 'writing' touches (edits will still be required) on a future JRJ article, but I am still missing some information I would like to add in order to make the article more complete. What I need are images of a few specific half-dime and dime cuds; the images will not be used in the article. If you can please help me by sending me images of the cuds I am looking for I would be most grateful, and your assistance would be noted in the article. Feel free to email me the images at: stoneman101(at)gmail.com

1) 1836 LM-3/V-4, reverse cud over A in AMERICA

2) 1829 JR-4, reverse cud over ER and retained cud over NITE

3) 1830 JR-4, reverse cud from Rim to M

4) 1831 JR-4, reverse cud above ED and later CA to arrowhead

5) 1831 JR-6, obverse cud from Rim to Star's 1-2-3

6) 1832 JR-2, obverse cud from Rim left of date

7) 1835 JR-4, reverse cud from A3 to Arrowheads

In addition, although I may be wrong, I recall that there is now a second Bust Dollar cud discovered/known in addition to the 1798 B-20/BB-1. I am not a Bust Dollar collector, but if there are any other Bust Dollar cuds known besides this 1798 B-20 I would be interested in adding that information to my article.

Thanks,

Winston Zack