1800 half cent

[cheezbean-migration]

Hi, I was wondering if you experts out there can help me get an idea of what kind of grade this would get. I hope the pics come out. I'm not good at posting pics. Thanks in advance.

 

 

https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/11825796_10200820906641194_3458795522859080003_n.jpg?oh=09869537c97541fe0ad62f4436f791f9&oe=56604DDC

[cheezbean-migration]

May have to copy/paste the first pic (obverse) and click on the 2nd.

[BillJones]

The obverse is not coming up for my review, but going by the reverse, I'd say that the coin has something like VG sharpness, but is marked up and has been cleaned. I am going by only one side, but this is what I can draw from the reverse.

 

The 1800 half cent is an interesting issue. All of the coins were made from one die pair which means that there is only one die variety. The reverse is of the style of the late 1790s. That reverse survived to make a few of the 1802 over 0 half cents, which are known as "the old reverse." That is a very scarce coin of which there are perhaps 12 to 20 known, all of them with problems.

 

I hope that you will be able to post the obverse of your coin in a subsequent message.

[cheezbean-migration]

I hope this works. Hopefully this is a link for the obverse:

 

 

link

[BillJones]

Yes, you link worked.

 

The obverse is the same as the reverse. The coin has VG to Fine sharpness with quite a few marks, and it has been cleaned. The net grade would be in the Good+ category.

 

Don't feel badly. The first Draped Bust Half Cent I owned was an 1806, Small 6, Stemless, which is one of the most common varieties. It too had been cleaned and the reverse lettering was not complete. That still qualified it has a Good back in the mid 1960s.

[cheezbean-migration]

Yes, you link worked.

 

The obverse is the same as the reverse. The coin has VG to Fine sharpness with quite a few marks, and it has been cleaned. The net grade would be in the Good+ category.

 

Don't feel badly. The first Draped Bust Half Cent I owned was an 1806, Small 6, Stemless, which is one of the most common varieties. It too had been cleaned and the reverse lettering was not complete. That still qualified it has a Good back in the mid 1960s.

 

Thank you for your input on this. Wow, I thought maybe VF35 tops to F. I didn't even think about it being cleaned. Can you tell for sure? I don't see any fine scratches from cleaning. So you think it would get a details grade for sure?

[Six Mile Rick]

Cleaned --- Too light for OLD COPPER. Should be DARK BROWN!! A nice piece for a raw type set!! (thumbs u

 

Rick

[BillJones]

This is more like the type of color you should see on an old piece of copper. It can a bit darker, maybe a little lighter on high grade pieces. This one grades EF.

 

 

Now it's fixed.

 

Sorry this did work. I will to get off the iPad and on a computer to fix this.

[cheezbean-migration]

Thank you very much for the info, Bill and Rick. I didn't do as well as I thought, but for $21, I still think I did good!

[BillJones]

$21 is okay for that coin. It is a scarcer date than an 1804 or 1806, and it does have that unusual reverse.

[johnny9434]

nice coin

[BillJones]

I don't mean to show you up, but one way to learn to grade coins is to see what they look like when all or virtually all of the design has not been worn off the piece. This 1800 half cent is an AU grade piece.

 

[cheezbean-migration]

I noticed that some of the letters on the reverse on mine are more worn than other letters next to them. How does that happen? Weak strike?

[BillJones]

I noticed that some of the letters on the reverse on mine are more worn than other letters next to them. How does that happen? Weak strike?

 

Weak strike does have something to do with it. If you look at the "F" in "OF" on the piece I posted, that letter is weak and was weak from the beginning. As for the word "CENT" I would say that is uneven wear.

 

Unlike modern coins, these pieces had very little in the way of a protective rim that could shield the lettering from wear. Therefore the letters took a beating, and the coins looked "old before their time."

 

Part of the modern minting process involves the upsetting of the rims which before the coins are struck. Those rims prolong the useful life of the coin. That step was not a part of the minting process on these early U.S. pieces.