The Capped Bust Half Dollar 1807-1839

[JRocco]

Be careful if you start collecting these Stef. They are really addicting. Here for example is another 1811.
This is the Overton 108. I could have been very happy with my other two 1811's I posted earlier...BUT NOOOOO
You just can't have enough of these CBH's.
All kidding aside, I do really like the look of this one and just had to have it when I saw it.
This variety is best known for the crude 8  which is just two crude overlapping circles.

[JRocco]

I love all the variety in this series. It must be remembered that these coins were hand struck which led to so many varieties.
The obverse master die only contained the portrait LIBERTY as the central device. Everything else was hand punched into the die:
the stars, the dentils and the date were all hand punched into EVERY die. In fact, the dentils were hand punched one at a time contrary to an older belief that a gang punch was used....imagine that.
The reverse master die only contained the bird and the outline of the shield as well as the EPU and scroll. Everything else was hand punched into the die: Again the dentils, the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, the crossbars and stripes on the shield as well as the 50 and C...imagine that too!
I guess you can see why they wanted every die to be used as long as possible and were lapped to clean up any striking clashes which led to the many different die states and die cracks as well as varieties in the series.  Once this is realized it is understandable that you will see variations in the height of the letters and numbers as well as the star positions, letter positions and crossline and stripe positions. What a great series to study and enjoy.
Sometimes different letters or numbers were used depending upon what was punched into the working die. Take a look at these 2 different varieties of 1828 halfs. First is the Overton 108 this utilizes obverse die # 5 and Reverse die G.
The O-108 date shows a recut 8 as well as a knobbed, square base 2. The second coin is my 1828 O-104. This variety utilizes Obverse die # 2 and Reverse C. The O-104 date shows two 8's with slender lines and the number 2 shows a large open curled top with a curved base.
This series is soo much fun.
1828 O-108


1828 O-104


The two dates for comparison

[JRocco]

Hey guys, lets see some of those CBH's I know you have out there.
One of the things I enjoy the most out of this series is the incredible amount of varieties to be found. Some are really tough and some are not as bad if you know what to look for. Here is one of those real tough ones period.

This is the 1824/21 O-102 an R5+ variety.
Even in this condition this is a 4 figure coin.

Let me quote from Edgar Souders book "Bust Half Fever" :
The 1824/21 O-101 is scarce in the lower circulated grades on up to EF-40. EF45 and AU examples aer very scarce and above this rare.
The 1824/21 O-102 is rare IN ANY GRADE !
The 1824/21 O-102 is in a class of its own and RARE in any grade from AG3 up ! In all of numismatics I doubt there are fifty to sixty of these existent-attributed or otherwise. On the O-102 reverse there is a die dot in the field between the scroll and the Eagles head.

I am very lucky to have this coin in my collection knowing there are hundreds of very strong CBH collectors that are missing this ubber rarity.

[JRocco]

Here is an 1831 O-113 and R4 variety.
The easiest PUP on this variety can be seen on the reverse as the weak or broken arrow shafts near the claw due to die lapping.
Notice also some variations on this die like the nice well defined eighth star while all the others are flat.
This is a good strike for this variety and this one is in 58 plastic, yet those stars are still flat.
You really have to know this series before you can accurately grade them, but this is where all the fun is.

[JRocco]

1810 O-109 R3
This variety is struck using Obverse Die 8 and Reverse Die I. This was the only use of these dies.
This variety is known to have weak to no milling on both the obverse and reverse.
Sorry for the glare and the old scuffed up plastic slab.

[JRocco]

Here is an 1832 O-105a
This is a very scarce R4 variety with approx 80-200 known examples.
It utilizes Obv 3-s2 and Rev D-s2
This variety utilizes the third usage of this obverse with the second usage of the reverse and
it shows little to no milling on both the obverse and reverse with all the letters and stars
drawn to the edges, This is a tough variety to find slabbed, especially in AU like this piece.
This variety was struck from badly deteriorated dies evident even on strongly struck examples.
Once again, sorry for the old scuffed slab.

[coinsarefun]

They are all so very beautiful and I am learning so much on the die varieties.....Thanks

[JRocco]

Thanks Stef 
Here is an 1817 O-105a, another R4 variety.
First a little background.
1817 was an interesting year at the mint. Only CBH's and large cents were struck in 1817, no other denomination was minted.
There were plenty of problems in the mint back in the 1815-1817 time span.  There were shortages of gold and silver added to the fact that the War of 1812 severely disrupted the economy as well as it's ability to store and move supplies.
There was also the famous fire that destroyed most of the mint in January 1816 which shut down production leading to no 1816 coinage produced.
Other notables for this year include:
The beginning of the Mississippi river steamboat service
John Quincy Adams became the Secretary of State
The 1st Seminole War begins in Florida
Baltimore became  the 1st US city lit by gas
Digging for the Erie Canal in NY begins with Clinton's Ditch
The Mississippi Territory is divided into Alabama Territory & Mississippi. Just to name a few.

Those sure must have been interesting times to live.
Look at the die cracks and  clash marks on this variety.

[rrantique]

Wow that one has a lot clash.  Very nice.

[Conderluva]

@JRocco, nice 1811 O-108!  Great eye appeal on that one....love those earlier dates.