Regarding the story of the dubious 1802 half dime, let me suggest that the images are actually of a genuine 1802 half dollar! I only wish that a Draped Bust Half Dime could be that well struck. The poor little coins are usually rather indistinct in places.

I saw the note about the 1802 "Half Dime" and had been previously contacted about the entry in the JR Newsletter. When I went into the Auction listing it shows this listed as a half dollar, which it appears to match, not the very rare half dime of that date.

My first reaction was that it looked quite a bit like a half dollar, and it seemed a reasonably close match to the 1802 dies. I checked the Silver City Auctions website, and the archived description for Lot 147 in their March 21 sale now reads: "1802 Half Dollar XF."

I don't profess to be an authority on Draped Bust half dollars, but the coin offered may very well be genuine. The price seems rather low, but the grade might be somewhat optimistic. Only one die marriage (Overton 101) is known for 1802, and the quantity minted is a mere 29,890.

Fake is one thing, but I'm also curious about how a piece with so much wear, which my UK eye would call little more than Fine, gets to be XF across the Atlantic! I know there have always been differences in grading standards on either side of that body of water, but I've only ever thought of it in terms of a half to a whole grade difference in the past. Two whole grades is starting to look seriously inflationary :-)

The picture clearly shows it is an 1802 Half Dollar (O.101) in low VF condition. As such the price realized is consistent with the actual piece.

I was really hoping it not to be a fake Half Dime. It looks to me that a large amount of the auction was "sold" to the same buyer - probably the owner and I doubt if sold at all.