The Capped Bust Half Dollar 1807-1839

[JRocco]

Here is another one of those tough ones to find, and priced accordingly (unfortunately)
Here is the 1807 small stars. Talk about die cracks - just take a look.
Remember that the strike on these coins is typically very weak due to metal flow problems, especially seen on the birds left wing facing.
As Edgar Souders points out in his book Bust Half Fever:
"To give you a sampling of the time - history has recorded that in the late summer of 1807, the "CLEREMONT" was chugging from New York to Albany in just over 32 hours...The next time you hold an 1807 CBH in your hand try to imagine these small communities that relied on the steamboats for provisions, entertainment, and also the latest news of the "goings on" in the rest of the country. The very coin that you hold was part of this fledgling time in our country"
I love this coin. Sorry for all the pics - I can't help myself with this one.

[JRocco]

Here is an 1825 O-110
This coin utilizes Obverse die 7 and Reverse die I, an R2 variety.
I love this look in a CBH and while I did not capture the beauty of this one with
it's blue and green peripheral toning, the slab on this piece is a bad one as
can be seen on the glare in the third pic which made it hard, but you can get a hint at the toning that
covers this coin.

[JRocco]

Here is an 1829 O-109a, an R4+ variety
Few neat PUPS (pick up points) for this variety:

The tops of all three A"S are filled at the top
A strong die line crosses the central branch joining the upper and lower pair of olive leaves
A few die lines are evident between the bust and the edge
A straight die line extends from the top left serif of the F (somewhat hidden in the toning on my piece)
Die prong is visible from the left wing under the birds head

[JRocco]

Here is another neat overdate in this series.
This is the 1814/13
This variety is very rare in EDS (early die state), a full R6 with most examples listed as O-101a such as this example. Most pieces show strong clashing which led to total obverse die failure. Most examples, like mine, show an almost complete full circular obverse die crack. Aside from the obvious date another common PUP is above the second letter T in STATES , there are 2 over-sized dentils. Remember that these dentils were hand struck onto each die. Look at all these clashes on the reverse, especially in the shield and note that the die also rotated between clashes. Such was life before steam die presses in the age of the screw press.

[JRocco]

Here is an interesting piece it is the Terminal Die State of the 1818 O-104a, or the 1818 O-104b listed as an R7
It is still controversial to some whether this die state should be classified as the "b" die state
Some PUPS on this variety:
The first 8 is punched a little low and leans toward the right and on the reverse, there is a triple segment in the milling below the lowest pair of leaves and a small die dot in the field below RI of AMERICA

[coinsarefun]

Here is an interesting piece it is the Terminal Die State of the 1818 O-104a, or the 1818 O-104b listed as an R7
It is still controversial to some whether this die state should be classified as the "b" die state
Some PUPS on this variety:
The first 8 is punched a little low and leans toward the right and on the reverse, there is a triple segment in the milling below the lowest pair of leaves and a small die dot in the field below RI of AMERICA

By gosh by golley she cracked her bust
I like this one very much! A lot of stuff going on and reminds me of dare I say.........VAM'ing Morgans
However I do like this particular one, thanks for posting it JRocco

[JRocco]

Thanks Stef.
Here is a coin that I really have to dig out of the SB and re-image. These are old pics that I did a really poor job with. This coin is a stunner with strong album toning circling the entire coin though my images only show this partially. It is also an old slab as can be seen by the scratches on the plastic around the date. It is in an old NGC fattie so it is probably still toning
This is the 1833 O-101 with some easy PUPS
The 8 in the date is punched very high compared to the other numbers and especially when compared along the bottom
and the reverse shows a very high punch on the 5 in 50C
This coin also shows some of the situations faced when trying to grade these coins. This one is in AU53 plastic (although I see a 50)
and shows a very soft strike with little wear. A novice to this series would probably grade this much lower especially looking at the reverse strike.

[JRocco]

Here is another interesting over-date in this series.
This is the 1827/6 O-101
This obverse was used 3 times, this marriage being the first.
This reverse die,  Die A was used first used to strike the 1826 O-120, this marriage is the last use of this die.
The reverse die started to break up after the striking of the 1826, O-120a.
Look close at the reverse to see the signs of its break-up and eventual destruction.

[JRocco]

Here is an 1814 O-105a, also known as the 1814 Single Leaf R4
On this variety, the uppermost pair of leaves now only shows as one leaf. The upper berry appears to have no stem. The olive stem, edge of tail feathers, and claws are lighter than normal.
This is an interesting, tough variety.

[JRocco]

Here is the 1836 O-115 R3
This coin represents the end of an era in numismatics.
In 1836 the mint began using steam presses to mint it's coinage and stopped the screw presses.
1836 is the transitional year in the CBH series as there are both 1836 screw press and 1836 steam press varieties.
While the end product improved, it is tough to cheer the end of an era.
Here is an example in an old NGC 58 fattie.
A easy PUP for this variety:
The date is punched low with thick numbers and the 8 is re-cut along the entire top.