Posted 10/09/2009 11:40 am
I hatelove attributing 1830's. 
After going back and forth for the last hour, I'm tentatively settled on O-117 for this one. It would be an easier task if the full shots of the obverse and especially reverse were taken from directly above the coin; these angled shots, although large and clear, introduce a little distortion in the relationships between letter positions which are so critical to attributing Bust Halves.
The fact that the 18 appears to be lower than the 30 in the date helps narrow things down. With that as a starting point, the position of "50 C." becomes more important. The D in UNITED appearing to be lower than the E; the AME in AMERICA seeming widely spaced, and the weakness of the S in PLURIBUS combine to bolster the attribution. I use the position of the obverse stars as more of a confirmation than a diagnostic; especially with the angled shots presented here, the subtle differences of star location tend not to be definitive. If you look close, you should see two lines - the very first, and Line 3 of Stripe 5 - extending upwards into the crossbars.
O-117, XF40. The weakness of the clasp compared to the strength of the stars causes me to consider a few points lower than I might otherwise.
After going back and forth for the last hour, I'm tentatively settled on O-117 for this one. It would be an easier task if the full shots of the obverse and especially reverse were taken from directly above the coin; these angled shots, although large and clear, introduce a little distortion in the relationships between letter positions which are so critical to attributing Bust Halves.
The fact that the 18 appears to be lower than the 30 in the date helps narrow things down. With that as a starting point, the position of "50 C." becomes more important. The D in UNITED appearing to be lower than the E; the AME in AMERICA seeming widely spaced, and the weakness of the S in PLURIBUS combine to bolster the attribution. I use the position of the obverse stars as more of a confirmation than a diagnostic; especially with the angled shots presented here, the subtle differences of star location tend not to be definitive. If you look close, you should see two lines - the very first, and Line 3 of Stripe 5 - extending upwards into the crossbars.
O-117, XF40. The weakness of the clasp compared to the strength of the stars causes me to consider a few points lower than I might otherwise.
