Variety of the Month – 1900H

I was browsing through some back issues of the CN Journal the other day and re-read an article on the 1900H large cent.  This particular date has not received much attention from variety collectors since it is generally believed that there is little happening on either side of the coin with these lads.

In 1900, the royal mint split the mintage and 2.6 of the 3.6 million coins minted that year were contracted to Heaton to complete.  Here is where the interesting part comes into play.  Heaton hand stamped their little H into each of the working dies used that year.  Since this was hand stamped, the H is never exactly in the same place.  It moves around enough that you can easily pick out differences with a 10x loupe.

Here is a little research project for you.  How many different reverse working dies can you identify?  Now don’t shy away, this will actually be a neat project to work on for several reasons:

First, this date is easily obtainable at very reasonable prices.  You can probably pick up VF-EF examples in the $5-15 dollar range.  I have found it best to stay at the VF+ level for this type of work.  Any more wear than that just frustrates the heck out of me when I can’t make a determination due to wear.

Second, these are readily available and there are lots of them, no one is hording them.

Third, you have a known starting point with the H.  The leaves and the denticles don’t move so they are your reference points.  Look at where the H is in relation to them.  Are there differences in the H itself?

Forth, You can supplement your reverse evaluation with secondary markers such as die cracks.  If the H is in a similar placement but the cracking is different, you have 2 different working dies.

Number your coins and keep good notes or you will find you are redoing the same evaluation over and over on the same coins.  Photographs always help.

A few examples are presented below so you can get the idea.  Give it a crack and dive a bit deeper into variety collecting by discovering and documenting these through your own efforts.  It is very rewarding to flesh out a group of coins that have previously been ignored. 

H is high left with the upper left serif of the H touching the tip of the lobe of the leaf.

H is far left with the top of the upper left serif touching the tip of the lobe of the leaf.  This actually looks like a bridge from a die chip.

H is high in relation to the tip of the leaf lobe.

H is even in relation to the tip of the leaf lobe. Note the die crack to the right of the H.

H is low and far from the leaf to the right.

H is low and far from the leaf to the right.  Note the die crack in the H.

Protecting Your Cash

I was at the Chicago Paper Money show yesterday.  This is always an intimidating experience for me, a large cent guy.  All that paper, all those choices, radars, sequential, devils faces, foxing, bleaching, washing, pressing, discrete folds, different signatures, prefixes, suffixes, and me a green as grass when it comes to that stuff.  My biggest fear is making a mistake and laying out too much cash for a common item.  It got me thinking, the same is true when you are starting to collect Vickies. 

I take it all in stride now, but we all started at some point.  I was wondering on the drive home, what are the items that have bubbled to the top for me in evaluating whether to bring a coin home or leave it were I found it.  There are so many things running through my head when I have a coin in hand.  I can sit at a table in any bourse, or coin shop and very quickly decide if a particular item is coming home with me or if it will continue to live in “foster care”.  This allows me to look at a lot of coins in a short period of time.

There is a lot of good advice out there and it can all swirl together when Vickie is staring at you, beckoning you to take her home.  Some of the clichés that abound and are all true are; by the book first, by the coin not the holder, start with the keys, by the highest grade your budget will allow, don’t buy problem coins, and the list goes on.  All good advice but when you are sitting at a table on the bourse and the coin is pleading with you, how do you decide what to do?

For me the first checkpoint I consider is the price on the holder.  No other information is relevant.  I don’t care if the coin is encased by the most or least respected third party grader (TPG), has nice typing on stickers, or is in a beat up old 2x2.  I don’t care if the coin is under glass, in a ratty old 3 ring binder or beautifully organized in double row red boxes.  The only info I consider is the price the vendor wants for the coin.  I go to price first, so I can quickly use my other criteria to make a decision.  My price point varies by year so I marry the asking price with the date on the coin, not the holder.  The price at this stage doesn’t matter; it is just an information point.

My second checkpoint is damage, cleaning, etc.  I try hard to leave scudzy coins where I find them.  This is my first decision making criteria.  Despite the price point, coins that are damaged, altered, corroded or that don’t have eye appeal go straight back where I found them for the most part.  If I am not variety hunting I move on to grade.  If I am looking for varieties, the coin will linger in my hand just a bit longer.  More on this point in a moment.

Next comes grade.  This I determine for myself.  Too many collectors are not good graders.  They accept TPG opinions without question.  They look at the grade on the 2x2 and accept that.  The vendor offers a verbal on the coin you have in your hand and it becomes an influencer.  Learning how to grade is probably the single most important skill you can develop.  You know more than you think.  The more coins you look at for a particular denomination, the better you get.  This skill is a must.  If the grade I determine the coin to be and the asking price of the coin jive in my mind, she is still a candidate to come home with me.  If not, back in the box she goes.  This step implies a price point.  I keep many in my head, but I also carry a copy of CCN Trends.  I have allowed my price point to slide in the past and have been disappointed when I look at the coin at home, under proper light, released from the original 2x2 etc.  I try hard not to talk myself into a purchase by allowing my price point to slide.

“Why this particular coin?” is my next question.  What are my collecting goals?  What am I after this trip?  Where will this fit into my collection?  Focus and discipline are key here.  If not, you’ll find yourself out of money very quickly without advancing your collection.  More coins do not a collection make.  If your goals involve accumulating and hoarding that’s OK.  If you are collecting, continue to exercise discipline.  Know what you want before you set foot on the bourse or in the shop.  So many coins to look at and so little cash in my pocket.  I need to make sure I’m spending on my focus, not my distraction.  I’m currently studying Obv. 1x coins so if the coin falls into that category, I may well buy her if she’s still in my hand after my grading exercise.  If I’m variety hunting outside my study group, say 1858 or 9 as example, I then take a closer look for the markers.  I’m continuing to only look at the coin.  What is written on the holder continues to be completely irrelevant.  To variety hunt you really need to either know the markers by heart, or have a good reference with you.  Don’t pay variety money on someone else’s attribution.  You need to be able to decide on your own.  Here is the only time where a cleaned coin or minor scratch coin might persuade me to consider it.

Critically evaluate your performance once you get home.  If you continue to be happy when you are looking at your purchases under your ideal home conditions, you have had a good day.  If not then you need to learn from the mistake and improve your decision tree for next time.  I have found that my spouse can help me here.  Her question of “What did you pay for that old cent?” is a great opportunity for me to explain my selection criteria.  If it passes muster, then Vickie is welcomed into her new home, if not she will get sold out of my collection and I’ll try again another day.

Being able to grade and determine varieties for yourself goes an incredibly long way to protecting your outlay of cash.  The more knowledge you possess the better you get at advancing your collection.  Develop your skill and stay focused.  Your collection will reward you with hours upon hours of enjoyment as you gaze into Victoria’s face.

It’s a Very Cool Coin, But…

I have this great 1859/8 that found its way to me a few weeks back.  I didn’t buy it on purpose; it was in a group of about 30 coins or so.  I often buy groups like this.  They keep me honest when I’m trying to establish the relative scarcity of varieties or die pairs.  It’s hard to have good numbers if you are constantly cherry picking, so I often buy groups.  The particular 1859, 9 over 8 in question was not identified up front, it was listed as a narrow 9.

I reached for Turners The 1858 Cents of Provincial Canada, Volume II where Rob documents each obverse, reverse and die pairing for the 1859/8’s.  It turns out to be an RD3/OA1.  The RD3 reverse is not that common but it’s not scarce either.  Rob has identified it as having coined about 5% of the overall 9/8 mintage.  The obverse on the other hand gets around a bit more.  The OA1 obverse has coined about 8% of the 9/8’s and is also paired up with 2 other overdate reverses.  Rob shows that this particular obverse is also associated with 3 different 1858 reverses, all of which are quite scarce.

Here’s the cool thing about this coin.  It has a cracked planchet that is so severe, it looks like the coin is going to break right in half!  As soon as I saw it I knew I would be keeping the coin.  The crack is right through, edge to edge, and shows clearly on both sides.  I’m not exactly sure what’s holding it together.  From the edge of the coin, the crack splits L3 in the middle, runs between the E of ONE and the T of CENT, splits the 5 and the 9, bisects L8 and out to the rim. Flipping the coin over we pick up the crack at the rim splitting the first A in CANADA, straight up Vicky’s neck, across her jaw, through her cheekbone,  exiting about mid nose, and on to split the A in VICTORIA and out to the edge.  This is a great break and it will make a great conversation piece. 

OK here’s the rub.  I’ll always have to describe the coin with the word “but”.  “Hey, have a look at this 9/8.  The planchet is seriously cracked. It’s very cool, but someone cleaned it.” I say.  Yeah that’s too bad. A great piece and a sought after die pair, what a shame” you lament.  “But that’s not all” I say, “look closer and you’ll see someone took what looks like an awl to the coin and marked it up, both sides”.  “Man, that’s too bad” you say, handing it back.

In this case I’m able to live with the “but”.  I didn’t put out 9/8 money for the coin.  It was a surprise in a bulk lot.  If I had however shelled out the cash for that coin individually, I can tell you that each time I looked at it, the cleaning and the defacing would bug me to the point that I wouldn’t show it to anyone.  Sooner or later I would get rid of it and be done with it.  How do I know this? It’s because I have bought coins in the past that had that effect on me.  I should have left them at the coin shop, show or walked away from the auction before I was high bidder.  I get no pleasure from a coin that I have to describe with the word “but”. 

I know a dealer that says there is an owner for even the most scudzy coin.  That might be so, but I’m trying hard to make sure it’s not me.  Leave those scudzy ones where you find them if you’re anything like me.  You will cringe every time you have to apologize for the look of your coin.  Here is my scudzy 9/8 with the really cool broken planchet.  Click the photos for a better look, if you dare.