1 specializing in liberty seated half dollars dick osburn 713-875-5860 [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
How’d I Get Here?
Began collecting in 1955• Dad had typical coins in his top drawer
Dealing by 1958• Lincolns, Jeff nickels, Merc dimes, etc.• Selling circulation finds at local shows
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Series CharacteristicsDesigner Christian Gobrecht
First official issue 1839 no drapery
Last issue 1891
Mints Philadelphia 1839 - 1891
San Francisco 1855 - 1878
New Orleans 1840 - 1861
Carson City 1870 - 1878
Total dates/mintmarks 108
Total varieties 306 in Wiley/Bugert reference
~500 estimated
Total die marriages ~2500 estimated
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Design TypesYEAR Type
1839 No drapery1839-1842 With drapery, small date/
letters1842-1866 With drapery, large date/
letters, no motto1853 Arrows & Rays, no motto1854-1855 Arrows only, no motto1866-1891 With Motto1873-1874 With arrows, with motto
Minor hub changes – 1858, 1876
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Seated Half Rarity
By Date and Mintmark (all varieties included)
R7+ 3 known 1853-O No Arrows
1842 small date small letters
R5 ~65 known 1878-S
R3 Less than 500 1851, 1852-O, 1870-CC, 1878-CC
1871-CC, 1874-CC
R2 Less than 1250 1842-O SD, 1846-O TD, 1850, 1852
1855-S, 1856-S, 1857-S, 1866-S NM
1872-CC, 1873-CC NA, 1873-CC WA
1885, 1886, 1887
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Seated Half RarityBy Variety Value (XF)
Unknown 1880, type 1 reverse
Unique 1866, no motto (Actually a pattern, the DuPont coin)
1 known 1877, WB-101, type 1 reverse
3 known 1842, small date and letters $35,000+?
5-7 known 1851, WB-104, 8 in denticles 5,000?
~15 known 1877/77 type 1 reverse (Proof) 2,000
1875-S, WB-104, micro S 5,000
~30 known 1849/1849, WB-102, dramatically doubled date 5,000
1876-S, WB-103, tail hub variety 2 1,500
~50 known 1847/6, WB-102 12,500
~75 known 1873, WB-101, no arrows, open 3 9,000
~250 known 1844/1844-O, WB-103, dramatically doubled date 2,500
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Seated Half RarityThe “Not So Rare”
1855/4 You can find one or two at any large show
1845-O No Drapery Actually a die state, caused by polishing the die
(the 1839 ND is the exception)
Many other no drapery dates are available
1846/horizontal 6 Spectacular, very visible varieties, therefore high
1844-O doubled date priced, but not excessively rare
1879 through 1890 Rare by mintage, but always available
Buy proofs for not much more than G-VG
1885, 1886, and 1887 are rarer than the others
1855-S Louisiana hoard dispersed about 10 years ago
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Seated Half RaritySleepers
1842-O Large date Common date, but very hard to find
1848 Moderate price, hard to find
1851 Higher priced, but virtually unavailable
1851-O Higher mintage, and common date price
Sought by date collectors due to scarcity of 1851
1852-O Price references around $100 in G/VG
Virtually unavailable in all grades
1856-S, 1857-S As scarce as 1855-S, but at a fraction of the price
1862 - 1865 Civil war issues disappeared
1864-S Very underrated. Virtually unobtainable in AU - MS
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Interesting Coins1840 “Medium Letters” reverse
• Bust half reverse (obverse mintmark) used to strike an 1840-O seated half• Result - the “Medium Letters” no mintmark variety, which is actually a
New Orleans issue
Early New Orleans die usage• 1845-O WB-108
1846, 6 over horizontal 6
The 1861-O “Confederate” halves• Obverse die linked to real 1861 Confederate half dollar issued by the CSA
1866 with misplaced digits (WB-103)
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Cherry Picking (for fun and profit)
The Rules of Engagement
• Cherry Picking is an honorable pursuit (NOT theft)– You worked hard for the knowledge - YOU EARNED IT!!
– Most (but not all) dealers agree
• Be courteous to a dealer’s other customers– Don’t hog the table
• When you find something– Complete your search before asking for prices
– Ask the price, then pay it or move on
– If the dealer asks what you’ve found, tell him
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Closing Thoughts
Get smart - buy the books before the coins
Limit your scope - specialize
Buy a microscope
Series suggestions :
Low budget Type set
Moderate budget Date set
First and last year transitional set
Big bucks Date and mintmark set
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References1. Wiley, Randy; and Bugert, Bill, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half
Dollars. Virginia Beach, Virginia: DLRC Press, 1993.2. The Gobrecht Journal. Three times yearly publication of the Liberty
Seated Collector’s Club.3. The Gobrecht Journal, Collective Volumes 1-4. Published by the Liberty
Seated Collector’s Club.4. Flynn, Kevin, Two Dates are Better Than One, A Collector’s Guide to
Misplaced Dates. Rancocas, New Jersey: KCK Press, 1997.5. Lloyd, Lloyd M., The Varieties of 1854 New Orleans Liberty Seated Half
Dollars, Published by Mike Lloyd, 1998.6. Beistle, M. L., A Register of Half Dollar Die Varieties and Sub-Varieties.
Shippenburg, Pensylvania: The Beistle Company, 1929.7. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and
Colonial Coins. New York: F. C. I. Press, Inc. and Doubleday, 1988.8. Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and
Colonial Proof Coins. New York: F. C. I. Press, Inc. and Doubleday, 1977.