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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,345 |
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Valued Member
United States
187 Posts |
Just a quick share out from a recent purchase... this was not a cherrypick unfortunately and I paid a premium. That said it's great to check this off my 2 feather list. I love all the die cracks, including the 'runny nose' crack. One big disappointment was, the deep nick behind the top feather, which was not evident in the original auction photo. I think it might grade as a F15 but for now I'm not planning to send it off.   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Sure looks like it to me.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2280 Posts |
Low grade example, but a 2 feather nonetheless.
How much of a premium are we talking?
You realize when you know how to think, it empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.
-Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Valued Member
 United States
187 Posts |
Ha, if you think that's low grade you should see my 20-S two feather. it's about an AG3. This coin was $240. A reach no doubt, but these are extremely hard to track down in any condition. I have one coin left to go in the 2F series, the 37D 2-1/2.
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Moderator
 United States
94614 Posts |
very nice 2F. Does anybody have a list of the ones known to have only 2 feathers?
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Valued Member
United States
187 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
94614 Posts |
thanks! off to the hunt....
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3619 Posts |
@jadenusa, You knocked it out of the park here. This is a great example. The B-05-15D2F-01/FS-401 is one of the toughest two-feathers out there.
I think you are low on the grade. Because the obverse die was abraded heavily and is nearly terminal die state, grade the coin entirely from the reverse. The buffalo's head is abraded, too, because of the second feather / buffalo's head clash, which is still weakly visible as a spike between the head and the "U" of UNITED. There is ample detail on the eye, beard, foreleg, rear legs, and over half of the hair on the back. The head and "F" of FIVE and "S" of CENTS are distinct from the rim. The tail is almost starting to merge with the rim. IMHO, your coin is a solid VF-30. I don't see the ding on the obverse hurting this one. It isn't enough to detail it, and it's consistent with a mid-grade coin.
Great coin!
EDIT: This is a later die state than most. There are at least 13 separate die cracks on the obverse. That die couldn't have lasted much longer.
Edited by fortcollins
07/09/2022 10:38 am
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Valued Member
United States
187 Posts |
Music to my ears @fortcollins! Thanks for the detailed breakdown, that's awesome  . If you have some time would love to see all 13 die crack locations. I counted 6-7 but could definitely use some help identifying the others? I was chatting with @Ty2020 the other day about 15-D 2F's in general as it seemed 40% of the slabbed coins still had some of the third feather still remaining. So I scoured the web looking for as many photos as I could find for reference. We think there's two distinct die's on this one and Ron Pope intimated as much too. In both cases the 3rd feather should be completely gone but some of the grading companies were a little lackadaisical with their assessments... you can view what I collected here: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...YmJQMUhxYmFBRemoving the 40% with some of the 3rd feather still showing it seems the population on the 15-D in it's purest state is really really low. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5887 Posts |
Very impressive! Your collection is coming along very nicely, congratulations!
-CH27
Collector of U.S. Coins, Varieties, and Colonial Coinage
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3619 Posts |
@jadenusa, I marked the die cracks that I could see, starting near1:00 at the rim, and moving clockwise. (You will need to enlarge the image a lot to see my yellow numbered markings.) I found a couple more, 15 total. There are several around the rim and a couple in the central devices. Enjoy! I know that Ron Pope speculated that there could be two different die states or two different dies. This is the only die I have seen. Ron definitely has seen a lot more of them, and his opinion carries its weight in gold. My best guess is that this die was already LMDS/LDS when it had clashed so heavily that it was abraded. The die seems to have failed fairly quickly after that. I could definitely see it being abraded twice. (The 1937-D three-leg was abraded at least twice, for example.) Over the years I handled 2 or 3 of these, all in lower grades. They are very scarce. Yours is a very nice example. Whoever used the magic wire brush in Denver during this era sure knew how to destroy a die! Think about the process and the dangers, though. This die would have been the hammer die, and would have been abraded while it was in the press. The rocker presses of that day were known as "finger choppers" and "knuckle biters" because they didn't have any safety guards or emergency stops. No press operator wants to lose a finger or a hand. That press operator would have wanted to get the job done very quickly and get his hands out of harm's way. Preserving the die was definitely not a consideration.  |
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Valued Member
United States
187 Posts |
Thanks for sharing your knowledge @fortcollins, super cool. Knuckle biters is terrifying lol, cruuuunch.
@coinhunter27 only two of those pix in the album are mine, the rest were pulled from the web for comparison. That would be amazing collection for sure tho!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5887 Posts |
Well I've seen your posts and I've watched you accumulate a very nice collection of Buffalo varieties. I was just commenting on that! -CH27 Collector of U.S. Coins, Varieties, and Colonial Coinage
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1204 Posts |
Great job. I had to go with an acid dated to find mine. But I can't afford the premium and want to find them all cherry picking. Hope you get our last ones soon.
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Valued Member
United States
187 Posts |
Right on Shield! That is the righteous And most rewarding path. Typically I'm in that camp, but got tired of waiting on the 15D!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4680 Posts |
You know my opinion, great looking example on a tough year! Especially on one such as this with the majority of that 3rd abraded. Congrats.
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,345 |
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Posted 07/08/2022 5:34 pm
