Collecting Varieties Offers New Challanges

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Broadening hobby interests
Collecting varieties offers new challenges
posted 9/20/05
By Paul Gilkes
Coin World Staff

Collecting all of the die varieties of a single date of a particular U.S. coin provides a collector with new challenges.

Broadly defined, a die variety represents a coin that can be linked to a specific pair of dies due to diagnostics possessed by those dies and imparted to the coin at the time it was struck.

More narrowly defined, a die variety represents the marriage of two identifiable, unique dies, whose uniqueness can be traced to the production of the dies before they are used to strike coins.

Under this narrower definition, changes to dies occurring while they are being used to strike coins can also be defined more narrowly, in two categories.

These are die state, a period in a die's life marked by the presence or absence of wear or abrasion, and die stage, a period in a die's life marked by the presence or absence of some effect other than wear or abrasion (things such as die cracks, die breaks and clash marks).

In the early years of U.S coinage history, when dies were made by hand engraving or punching, each die was slightly different depending on the tools used and the skill of the engraver.

Differences in details on the main portrait device, the Mint mark or date, or any of the lettering in the legends for a particular date and denomination help determine identification of a specific die variety.

THE CURLED BASE 2 has been found only on the exceedingly rare JR-10, discovered in 1973. Images courtesy of John Reich Collectors Society.

The coins struck from these unique dies are die varieties and are collected in every denomination.

By the 1840s, when dies were made by hubbing the coin designs and other major details into die steel, die varieties then resulted mainly from variances in the size, shape and positioning of the date and Mint mark, still hand-positioned on individual dies.

The predominance of die varieties can likely be found with many of the silver and copper coin issues of the late 18th century and continuing through most of the 19th century. However, issues of the 20th century also have provided interested collectors plenty to look for (including such varieties as doubled dies and repunched Mint marks).

Changes to die production techniques introduced in the 1990s have eliminated most die varieties.

However, as coin production technology has evolved, so, too, has the pursuit of collecting die varieties. As time passes, a whole new generation is introduced to the possibilities that collecting by die variety offers.

MEDIUM 10C is seen on two reverse dies for 1829 dimes, including this JR-12 specimen.

Where to start

A coin that has already been attributed by date, Mint mark, design type, design subtype and denomination - such as an 1879-S, Reverse of 1878 Morgan dollar - often can be further classified by die varieties representing all of the identified marriages of obverse and reverse die, plus die states and die stages.

Research has been conducted in many series, with researchers assigning catalog numbers and letters to the various combinations of dies known to have struck coins of each of the various years and Mint marks.

These researchers have produced a number of detailed, illustrated reference works that offer a look at what was known to the author at the time the book was published.

Most of these catalogs have been published in print form, although with the growth of ownership of personal computers and the World Wide Web, some researchers are now publishing their research online.

Ongoing research and the uncovering of new varieties have added to the knowledge base of each series.

Among the reference works on die varieties are William H. Sheldon's work on U.S. large cents of 1793 to 1814, Early American Cents, titled Penny Whimsy in subsequent editions.

SMALL 10C OVER LARGE 10C is believed to be unique to the JR-9 variety. Images courtesy of John Reich Collectors Society.

A small sampling of die variety references includes these works: United States Half Dimes by Daniel W. Valentine and the updated Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837 by Russell Logan; Early United States Dimes 1796-1837 by Jules Reiver, David J. Davis, Russell J. Logan, Allen F. Lovejoy, John McCloskey and William Subjack, published by the John Reich Collectors Society; the Complete Guide to Liberty Seated dimes by Brian Greer; A.W. Browning's Early Quarter Dollars of the United States 1796-1838; Al C. Overton's Early Half Dollar Varieties: 1794-1836; the Comprehensive Catalogue and Encyclopedia of U.S. Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars, the " VAM" book, by Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis; and Walter Breen's various monographs on U.S. gold coins.

Bill Fivaz and J.T. Stanton's CherryPickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties provides a more detailed, illustrative look at many of the rarest and most desirable die varieties for most of the U.S. coin series. Researcher Kevin Flynn has produced a number of individual titles.

Coin World readers should also take advantage of the expertise of variety researchers Ken Potter and John Wexler who alternate writing the "Varieties Notebook" column in Coin World issues the first week (Potter) and third week (Wexler) of each month.

Both maintain their own separate variety files, as does the Combined Organization of Numismatic Error Collectors of America.

SCROLL ENDS under rightmost tip of M in AMERICA on the JR-8 variety.

Choosing a date

Generally, a coin, if purchased as an attributed variety, will cost more than its common counterpart for a particular date and Mint mark. However, since not all dealers and collectors are knowledgeable about die varieties, it is possible for a knowledgeable collector to purchase an unattributed scarce or rare variety for the price of a common one.

Die variety collecting is a specialized pursuit that can be as easy or as challenging as the collector desires.

The ease and expense of completing a collection depends on what coin to pursue for one's collection.

Hundreds of varieties may be available to collectors for some series if their focus is to try to collect one example of every variety known for every date of a denomination in a certain series.

However, before diving headfirst into uncharted waters, it may pay to narrow the focus to not only a specific series and denomination, but to just a single date within the series. Starting out with an easier goal to achieve will eventually open the way to larger challenges in the future.

For example, a feature story in the Aug. 29 issue of Coin World, Page 56, focused simply on the 1820 capped bust half dollar and the eight major die varieties the year and denomination offers.

Seven of the eight are relatively common and easily obtainable, limited only by grade and price, while one is prohibitive by price and collector demand for the known specimens.

In the early U.S. large cent series, Sheldon realized that some varieties are known by so few examples and carry demand so high that he designated them in his reference work with "NC" numbers for "noncollectible."

Collectors can bypass such issues and still feel their effort will be complete once they obtain all of the other known varieties for an individual date.

Challenges

Varieties may include die states, doubled dies, blundered edge devices, overdates, over Mint marks, repunched dates, repunched Mint marks, die breaks, die cracks and other anomalies that separate each variety from all the other coins.

For the sake of illustration, look at the 1829 Capped Bust dimes.

Twelve reported die varieties for the date have been identified from a mintage of 770,000 coins.

Some of the varieties of 1829 Capped Bust dime are available for less than $100 in Very Fine 20 condition and lower grade, while higher grade specimens may cost several hundred dollars each.

A number of the 1829 dime die varieties are known only by examples grading VF or lower. Early United States Dimes, 1796-1837 records six obverse dies and 11 reverse dies that were used to create 12 varieties for the year, with only Reverse G being paired with two different obverses.

Reverse G shows the scroll above the eagle shifted a bit to the right, ending at the rightmost tip of the M in AMERICA. All varieties are identified by JR numbers.

The rarest of the 1829 Capped Bust dime varieties, bearing catalog number JR-10, has a curled base to the 2. It is dramatically different from the Square Base 2 on all other varieties, but it was unknown until 1973, nearly a century and a half after its minting.

For the Square Base 2 coins, the JRCS identifies a Curved Neck 2 and a Straight Neck 2, the latter on only three obverses. The punches, minutely different, created a die difference far too subtle for general catalogers or collectors.

Catalogers have long recognized small, medium and large sizes of 10c on the reverses.

The JRCS dime reference adds an "extra large" 10c, used only on its Reverse A and noted as used with some 1828 Capped Bust dimes as well.

Only one die is classed as Large 10c, two as medium and all others as small (with the observation that the Small 10c on Reverse H, found on JR-9, was punched over a Large 10c).

On the Small 10c varieties, the 0 is round and shorter than the 1. On the Medium 10c variety, the 0 is oval and almost as tall as the 1.

The Large and Extra Large 10c varieties are fairly even in these respects and closer to the long denticles at the rim.

A special reverse, K, found on JR-12, besides being one of only two Medium 10c varieties, was used to strike the only 1829 Capped Bust dime identified as having the vertical stripes in the shield arranged in pairs rather than sets of three.

Collecting by variety instead of just by date and Mint mark can open up a whole new world of challenges. It's also fun.