What Did Matthew Buy Last Saturday?

You got one correct, tzarmarko. On the mark!
No one has got the Half Dime correct.
And someone got the third coin exactly right.

Wait, wait. I think we have a winner.

KHOROSHO, Janvar!

How did you guess the 1837 Half Dime? No stars. It is beautiful.
A 1917 Standing Liberty quarter. Type One. Miss Liberty burned
her bra long before the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
And the third is an 1818 over 1817 Half Dollar.

tzarmarko was SO close. Shkoda! Shame!

Let me get the pictures up.

Does anyone object to my declaring january1may the winner?
He got all three correct enough for me.
If so, tell it to someone who cares.

Hello Moscow, here we come.

It's actually all quite easy and logical really... with so many clues someone was bound to be correct. I just happened to be the first one (though being a mathematician probably helped with assembling the clues easier).

So, this is basically how my thoughts went.
I know one of the coins is between 90 and 100 years old... so 1912-1922. It's also an uncommon type (because 1815-1820 is in the middle of Capped Bust territory so can't be one of the two uncommon types), silver and not a Barber. Minus Walkers and Mercs that basically only leaves the Type 1 SLQ (in fact the 1921 dollars would probably also count at this point but I didn't realize that until after I posted).
If so, this must be the one guess that perfessor got correct, which means his other two guesses are wrong. And since he guessed a SLHD* with stars on it, and we already know that one of the coins a SLHD, that only leaves the No Stars. Coincidentally it's an uncommon type as well which means the deduction is probably correct at that point.
Now, the third coin must be an overdate from 1815-1820, and either a dime or a half because all other denominations are taken; and there are no known dime overdates from that period.
At this point, we know the types of all three coins. The rest is picking out most common dates from the first two types and looking at overdates in the third to find which one looks like devil horns... I fumbled at that last one originally, then had the idea to Google for "bust half" "devil horns" (both in quotes) and that helped me find out the correct version.
It's trivial**, really.


*) Seated Liberty half dime
**) Admittedly this comes from a person who successfully solved the famous Einstein(?) "five houses" puzzle. Then again people here are likely to have intelligence well above average anyway.

OK. First the quarter and the half.





These two I found "in the box."
The "box" contains coins which the dealer has recently bought but not priced for resale.
To be given access to "the box" is the highest compliment that a dealer can pay to a collector.

The quarter is marked F for fine. When I showed it around to my colleagues, one said, "Hah, that's a very fine."
It is marked with $60, crossed out, a $54 and a $50.

The half is marked:
1818 Bust 1/2
8 over 7
small 8
O-102 R-2
Looks like he bought it in Waterbury, CT back in August.
No grade indicated. Hope it makes a fine.
It was marked $70.
Opinions on both coins as to grade welcome.
To me, they look pretty and honest.

Now the third coin: an 1837 Half Dime - No Stars.
(Drum roll, please .....)

The color is a bit darker in hand. I only have a scanner.





This coin was priced by Vinny, the seller.
It is marked:
1837 LGE DATE XF-45

An except from an email to my sister:

I reference the CCF write-up on Half Dimes.

"When I say that it is my Half Dime, I mean the date and the "VARIETY!" This particular example
is a V6 or variety six. Look closely at the leg. Brad asked me, "Did you notice the leg? It looks
like a cast on a broken leg."

Well, as it turned out "Mr. Half Dime", Steve I think is his name, gave us a talk on Friday at our meeting.
He told me that my dime is a variety 6 which is caused by a defect in the die used to stamp the coin.
It is not damage. It left the mint with this "marker."
There is also another defect by the left arm. It shows very faintly on my coin. I just noticed it.

Then he said, "The holder is incorrect. This is not a large date. It is a small date.
Don't you remember what I said yesterday?"
Your humble blogger, egg on his face, did his best to maintain composure.
"Well, not consciously. I must have absorbed your information and acted on instinct."
Your Humble Servant is a newbie with Seated Liberty coins.

As the write-up explains, there is no big difference in price between the two sizes.
However, the small date is much less common.

As Vinny said, "If you can only buy one Half Dime, why not get the first year?"
I had told him, "I am looking for Seated Liberty coins which match the half dollar you sold me last May."
He pulled this one out for me. Love at first sight!

I made a very good purchase using only my eye for aesthetic and "gut instinct." Everyone liked it."

So there you have it. My three new additions.
Thanks to everyone for playing.