A nice silver Capped Bust half dollar

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When I was a younger man I once had an idea to want to collect a set of US Capped Bust half dollars. It's a very manageable task because in low grades they aren't horribly expensive and they are very cool. Plus you get that great connection to the past holding one of these in you hand. The only problem is I tried collecting in a little higher grade which was more expensive, I quickly realized I wasn't a rich man and started into the more reasonable grades. I never did finish the collection missing some of the more difficult dates and varieties. It's also pretty much impossible to collect all the mintage varieties from different production dies. The coin today is an example of why this can be a problem.

The Capped Bust design was created by John Reich and modified by William Kneass so it could be used on the five cent, ten cent, quarter, and half dollar coins. In the half dollar the design was used from 1807 until 1839. An interesting fact about these is the dies were heavily used making many strikes look very weak almost looking circulated which can make proper grading difficult.

This coin I picked up many long years ago, but still a beautiful coin:

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Pictures are mine

About this coin:

Mint: Philadelphia

Mintage: 3,075,200 (all varieties)

Composition: 89.2% silver/ 10.8% copper

Weight: 13.5 grams

Diameter: 32.5 mm

Edge: Lettered

Design: John Reich

In 1828 there were several variants produced of the half dollar. This mainly had to due to differences in the dates and letter size. Mine is a square 2 with small 8's and large letters. The pictures below from PCGS might help you see the differences.

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There were also variants with curled base 2's with and a knob on the two or no knob,
These are from 1820 but show the same issue.

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pictures: PCGS

This just gives you an idea how difficult it can be to collect all the different variants produced by the Philadelphia mint in just 1828. This wasn't the only year it happened so a truly complete collection with all dates and variants would be near impossible unless you are sitting on top of sacks of cash. Sadly I'm not...

I hope you found this interesting, numismatics is different from stacking because of many factors of which I've only discussed couple today. It's a very fun hobby buy can be a huge challenge finding all the coins to complete your collection. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below and thanks for stopping by!

And please remember that collecting coins and stacking gold/silver is a great hobby but definitely not for everyone. You can lose money and you have to research before you make any purchase. Before you spend your hard earned money always do your due diligence by researching what you are buying. I am not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice, I'm just a guy who loves coins and gold/silver stacking!

References:

PCGS
https://www.pcgs.com/prices/detail/capped-bust-half-dollar/120/most-active

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capped_Bust

Capped Bust Half Dollar:
https://cappedbusthalfdollar.org/capped-bust-half-dollar-mintages/

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37 comments
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That is a very old coin.
man, I still remember throwing away some old coins from the Colonial era when I was still a little kid. hahah
I wish I still have it now.
!LUV !PIZZA

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Thanks! That's too bad they would be awesome today I'm sure. When we're young we don't always appreciate the past.
!pizza
!luv
!lol
!PIMP

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So many beautiful coin I want to get like this one but them premiums I just can't do it but hopefully I can land on something reasonable eventually

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They are pricey, but I love the coins from that era. Best way to do it is have an idea of what it's worth to collectors and try to get under that value, doesn't always work though... I speak from experience.

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Nice one. I think I only have one, and it is not as good a condition as yours here if I recall. Yeah, the capped is hard to get at a decent price in the higher grades for sure. I settled for a lower grade one for my type collection. Keep on collecting and sharing friend. Love it.

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I'll take one in poor condition if it's a Capped Bust! Back when America was America. How are you doing?

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oh, I am trucking along. Still trying to get my stride going.

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I hear you there, I don't remember getting tired as fast when I was younger!

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I am starting to forget when I was younger 🤣

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Me too, either that or the senility is kicking in 😂

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A beautiful series to collect my friend😀
You definitely need to be sitting on piles of cash to collect all the different mintage varieties !...🙄

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That’s very difficult series to complete. There are so many varieties to get. Some are really hard to find.

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If it's just by year it's doable, a couple years are up there. But all varieties it would be near impossible.

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It's an attractive coin, a lot of history attached to it. I bet it feels nice in the hand, especially with it's size.

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They are very fun coins to hold, just imagine the history and what that coin has seen!

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The varieties are barely distinguishable, you need sharp eyes like an eagle. Meanwhile I'm blind as a near-sighted bat. Cool old half D.

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Thanks! They are subtle but those subtle differences can dramatically affect the coins value. I once was blind to until I got Lasik, best thing I ever did!

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Now that's a coin that has been some places.
I love these old coins the show all the wear.

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Pretty awesome aren't they? It would be fun to know some of the places it's been!

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