Koenings' Reeded Edge Half Newsletter #10 January 15, 2020 Dear Reeded Edge Half Collector: Most of you indicated an interest in Reeded Edge Halves when you purchased my book "REEDED EDGE HALF DOLLARS 1836 TO 1839, R-4 to R-8 DIE VARIETIES". My intention is to educate collectors further in the study of Reeded Edge Halves. I will continue to report such topics as follows: 1. The 38 most common die marriages (started August, 2019 on a monthly basis). 2. The results of recent auction sales of R-4 and rarer die marriages 3. Have photos of interesting die stages 4. Plan to have a 2nd Reeded Edge Half Dollar Census by November, 2021 38 Most Common Die Marriages (continued) The following Newsletters were emailed to Reeded Edge Half Collectors as shown below: Newsletter Date emailed Subject #5 July 31, 2019 1836 GR-1 #6 September 15, 2019 1837 GR-5 #7 October 14, 2019 1837 GR-2 #8 November 14, 2019 1837 GR-3 #9 December 14, 2019 1837 GR-4 There are 25 known die marriages for the year 1837, making it the most difficult year to attribute. Only 1837 GR-1, rated R-5 (31 to 75 known) and 1837 GR-25, rated R-5+ (31 to 46 known) are very difficult to locate. 1837 GR-11, although rated R-5, appears often in various auctions in grades below XF. If you can master the year 1837, you could become one of the top collectors in Reeded Edge Halves. Even I have a difficult time attributing some 1837 die marriages, especially those that are Early Die Stages (EDS). If you can eliminate the 19 most common die marriages, you will be left with something that is very rare or even a new die marriage. 1 Over the next 15 months, I hope to cover the remaining 15 most common 1837 die marriages. Next is the 1837 GR-6 die marriage. 1837 GR-6 1837 GR-6, JR-11, appears to be the first and only use of Obverse 3 and Reverse F in Graham's book. This variety is listed as R-3 (201 to 400 known) by Graham and his census was 63, 62, 62, 61, 58, 55, 55, 53, 50, 45, 45 published in 2012. In my Reeded Edge Census reported in the J R Journal in November, 2018, I had: 63, 62, 58, 58, 25, 25 and 20 by JRCS and Bust Half Nut members. 1837 GR-6, JR-11, NGC MS62 Obverse The two most common features of the above obverse is a a recutting over the top of 7 and a stumpy heavy temple curl, just below the I in LIBERTY. Details will be shown on next page. Graham notes that the bust is usually weak on this variety, as are the lower stars on both sides of the portrait. 2 Blow Up showing Recutting over 7 The position of the 7 is slightly higher than the 3 in the date. The recutting is usually very obvious above the top of the 7. 1837 GR-6, XF45 Blow Up of Stumpy Heavy Temple Curl under I 3 1837 GR-6, JR-11, NGC MS62 Reverse The above photo appears to be an Early Die Stage (EDS) and has UNITED with a weakness at the bottom. In a Late Die Stage (LDS) the lettering in the legend might have all the letters drawn to the edge and have very weak dentils. The other main feature of this reverse is the upper right corner of the shield where there is an addition line. (see photo on next page). 4 1837 GR-6 NGC MS62 Reverse Upper Right Corner of Shield Although it is hard to see on this example, there is a line in the upper right corner of the shield. For later die stages, Graham states "All features weaker due to die fatigue with dentils very weak and all letters in legend drawn to edges. Next month, in Newsletter #11, I will be showing photos and information on the 1837 GR-7 die marriage. (also known as the inverted G in AMERICA die variety). This is one of 3 die marriages that were submitted to be included in the 2021 Red Book but denied as Whitman felt there was not enough interest in Reeded Edge Halves. They claim they are trying to avoid adding new die varieties, especially among Vam collectors and others. They say these new die varieties are more appropriate in Cherry Pickers Guide or in books that cover individual series. 5 Collectors Commentary Happy New Year! Last year (2019) was an amazing year for Reeded Edge Halves. My 52 year old son started to collect Reeded Edge Halves by die marriage in February, 2019. Together we have seen 54 out of 56 known die marriages, last year. The only two not available were 1839-O GR-2 and 1839-O GR-3 (both having only one known of each). Of course the 1838-O that sold for $504,000 in November, 2019 and the 1839 GR-1 that sold for $90,000 are a little out of his price range. Still, together we have found and purchased 10 out of the Top 14 in 2019. Most collectors would consider 1839-O GR-2 and GR-3 to be Non-Collectable. PCGS considers 1838-O to be Proof or Specimen issue that was not meant for circulation. The remaining 55 die marriages are considered business strikes. Only one collector has all 56 die marriages. Anyone having 52 or 53 die marriages, in the next census, will easily be in the Top 6 collections. Besides the 1838-O GR-1 and the 1839 GR-1 that sold in the November, 2019 StacksBowers Auction, the following R-4 and rarer die marriages sold: 1. 1837 GR-8, R-4, PCGS AU50 for $360.00 2. 1838 GR-12, R-4, PCGS AU55 for $504.00 3. 1838 GR-16, R-4, PCGS XF details-tooled for $192.00 1838-O Photos On December 24, 2019, I sent photos of 9 specimens of 1838-O with additional information on 3 other specimens to everyone on my list. Joey Lamonte replied that two specimens, Number 4 a SP50 coin that sold in 2015 and Number 8 a raw XF coin that sold in 2006, were the same coin. He said, one looked so different that it appeared that it had been in a tanning salon. Good eye Joey! Additional Commentary I have always questioned the mintage figures for the 1836 and 1839-O Reeded Edge Halves. Recently, I came across an article in the July-August 1998/ Rare Coin Review #124 by Harry E. Salyards. Below are some mintage figures that I found in various Red Books: 6 Red Book Years 1836 Mintage 1839-O Mintage 1966 to 1967 - 162,976 1970 - 178,976 1977 to 1997 1,200 178,976 2011 to 2019 1,200+ 116,000 Dick Graham did a study on 1836 and 1839-O in his book where he compared PCGS and NGC population reports and thought 1836 should be closer to 25,000+. One study he did showed 1836 having slightly fewer surviving specimens than 1839-O. I would like to continue this discussion in next month's Newsletter #11. Does anyone know if I can reach Harry E. Salyards? He had an interesting way of estimating mintages. If I can't reach him, I will present his figures in next month's Newsletter #11. Again, if you have any comments about Reeded Edge Half Dollars that I might include in future Reeded Edge Half Newsletters, please send them to: Jim Koenings P.O. Box 2382 Riverside, CA 92516 JRCS I strongly recommend that all collectors join JRCS. JRCS publishes it's J R Journal normally about 3 times a year. There is so much you can learn from these articles, such as New Discoveries, Census Information on all early silver issues, mint processes, die stage information and more. Membership is $25 per year. Anyone interested may contact W. David Perkins at [email protected]. 7