1829 Bust Half With Edge Lettering Error

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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 2,146
Jaobler Pillar of the Community United States 6384 Posts	Posted 08/27/2009 11:44 am I purchased this CBH on ebay. The price was good but it does have an "issue" or two. I'd grade it VF-20 for detail but the surfaces are too glossy given the level of wear. It has no doubt been cleaned. I'm also uncertain why the rim detail is so weak. The dentils are basically missing in action. The surfaces are smooth and although the coin is somewhat dark with brownish toning I see no sign of corrosion. Can anyone opine as to why the dentils are so faint? I've tentatively ID'd this one as variety O-114. At least, that is the only variety in the 2nd Overton book which shows the U in UNUM to be even with the O of OF, as on my coin. Based on the fact that the obverse stars are strongly drawn to the rim this would be a late die state. Do you agree? Possibly the most interesting feature is the edge lettering error. The standard edge lettering is "FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR * " (with a star between DOLLAR and FIFTY). This coin reads "FIFTY CENTS OR A DOLLAR * ". There does seem to be a partial F between OR and A. The attached photos show this area of the edge. I've heard edge lettering variations are common for CBHs, but I thought this one was cool. I guess when spending this coin you could try to convince the storekeeper that it was a dual-purpose fifty-cent or one-dollar coin, and you wanted the one-dollar value to apply for your purchase! Report this Post to the Staff

biokemist6 Bedrock of the Community United States 12437 Posts	Posted 08/27/2009 12:31 pm I am still learning the intricacies of the Bust Half series but I think you answered your own question about the weak dentils- that should be due to the late die state in addition to the drawn stars on the obverse and the distorted lettering(especially AMERICA) on the reverse. I would concur with the VF grade and it probably has been cleaned(as many many Bust halves have been) but that was years ago as it has retoned nicely without an overly scrubbed appearance. Interesting with the edge lettering, too many people ignore the third side of the coin but good stuff to be found there as well Report this Post to the Staff
TreasHunt Pillar of the Community United States 2540 Posts	Posted 08/28/2009 11:43 am Not 114. The A 2 & A 3 should be filled, plus the star 13 should be very close. Still looking it up. Report this Post to the Staff
TreasHunt Pillar of the Community United States 2540 Posts	Posted 08/28/2009 12:04 pm I believe that it is O-115. Check the diagnostics: 1) The position of the I under the T (I always use this one, easier than the other letters.) 2) Base of second T in States is higher than the A & E. 3) Arrow heads well separated. If in doubt, post it to CoinZip.com, that is where the Bust experts hang out. Report this Post to the Staff
Jaobler Pillar of the Community United States 6384 Posts	Posted 08/28/2009 3:06 pm Thanks TreasHunt, I think you are right! In the 2nd revision copy of Overton I'm looking at, the photo for O-115 is right under the text for O-114 so I thought I was looking at O-114. The coin matches the photo, not the text, so O-115 looks correct. Too bad since O-114 is an R3 rating while O-115 is only an R1. The relative positions for UNUM and OF on the reverse seem conclusive since I don't see any other varieties with similar positioning of these words. Presumably, that reverse die (Overton called it reverse 'L') was not paired with any other obverse dies. Of course, this reference is dated 1970 and it's likely other die pairings have been identified since then. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 4 / Views: 2,146

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