Great Fun ... Arkansas Half Comparison

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,914
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15458 Posts	Posted 02/17/2012 8:24 pm First off ... and will all due respect to my dear old Dad who was born there ... and to all current residents ... I admit that I am not a big fan of the Arkansas Centennial half dollar. Produced over five years (1935-1939) at all three active mints ... this 15 coin mini-series is IMHO least inspired coin to span multiple years during the initial classic series run (1892-1939). It can be debated that the 16 coin mini-set of Boone half dollars that ended in 1938 is equally weak in aesthetic appeal ... Few would argue that the 14 coin Oregon Trail half mini-set ... or the 13 coin Texas half mini-set lack design appeal ... IMHO these two coins are masterpieces of USA coinage art. Anyways .... back to the Arkansas half dollar ... I now have one of each ... MS and honestly circulated. As fate would have it ... both coins are 1935 Philadelphia mint examples ... so Great Fun to show the comparison from mint state fresh to well worn. Here is my PCGS MS66/CAC approved example ... Here is my honestly circulated F12 or so (my grade) example of the same exact coin ... One of the many joys of chasing both MS and circulated sets of these great coins is the ability to see details in the well worn examples that escape the eye in their MS counterparts ... so ... for example ... Observe on my F12 example obverse the final (second) "S" in the legend "Arkansas" ... it is horribly squeezed into the final "A" ... a detail I never noticed on my MS66 coin. Check out the comparison on the reverse of the letter "R" on "Dollar" ... this letter is much larger than the remainer of the legend ... again ... a discovery that escaped me until I had a circulated example to compare to. Extra credit to the first forum member who replies with a description of a similar comparison on the reverse legends with the word "Arkansas". To close this already long post ... recognize that I am writing to a very few interested folks ... and my passion/joy for the series is not in the main stream of everyday collecting interests ... But I am what I am ... and truly enjoying every minute of my collection passion for this great series. Enjoy. David Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff

MorganDude26 Valued Member United States 206 Posts	Posted 02/17/2012 9:19 pm I love the worn one. Report this Post to the Staff
Buddy Rest in Peace United States 7075 Posts	Posted 02/17/2012 9:22 pm I found your post quite interesting. Just yesterday my husband and I had a little talk about our (mostly my) collection. He brought up the idea of matches -- he thought it would be fun to collect two or more coins with trains, or loons, or whatever. This is a great example -- not a theme, but to show the wear a circulated coin endures. I really like the reverse of this coin. It has a great eagle -- but it didn't wear well. Now we just have to figure out how to display the matches side by side. I like the loose-leaf pages but there aren't any made that accomodate slabbed and unslabbed coins side by side. I think I'm going to have to build little frames. Report this Post to the Staff
yotie Pillar of the Community United States 3077 Posts	Posted 02/17/2012 9:33 pm looks like the first"a" has a wider b ASE Report this Post to the Staff
Canadian-Banknotes Pillar of the Community Canada 4944 Posts	Posted 02/17/2012 9:40 pm Looks like they started running out of room on "Arkansas" so they made the letters smaller/closer together. Report this Post to the Staff
Darth Anarchus Pillar of the Community United States 1388 Posts	Posted 02/17/2012 10:19 pm I agree with CanadianBanknotes... Progressively smaller lettering... Artist must've thought he had more room for lettering than what he did... Nice comparison... Report this Post to the Staff
LowBall Commem New Member United States 35 Posts	Posted 02/18/2012 6:13 pm Awesome lowball David! Glad to see you did not have any issues getting the PVC off. Report this Post to the Staff
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15458 Posts	Posted 02/18/2012 9:55 pm Thanks Steven ... it's taken me over two years of diligent searching to find this lovely circulated example ... and if submitted to PCGS would be the 2nd lowest grade ever certified to date in the 15 coin Arkansas series. However ... pleased to keep it raw forever in my Dansco 7094. Quote: Extra credit to the first forum member who replies with a description of a similar comparison on the reverse legends with the word "Arkansas". Indeed Canadian-Banknotes has it correct. This entire coin legends remind me of writing a quick message to a friend on a note card ... start out with normal handwriting ... then realize near the end that we are running out of room ... so everything gets squeezed together to make it fit. Amazing that the Commission of Fine Arts did not flag the design by Edward Everett Burr as amateurish. Quote: This is a great example -- not a theme, but to show the wear a circulated coin endures. Go for it Buddy ... interesting collections are built on the foundation of personal interest ... Thanks to all for the kind replies. David Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 188952 Posts	Posted 02/20/2012 1:00 pm Very nice, especially the circulated one! I lived in Arkansas for about 18 months when I was a kid. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,914

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