NEW BOOK: HALF DOLLARS 1794-1807 VARIETY GUIDE

Proudly presented to you is the 4th Volume of a series of variety identification guides covering Early U.S. Coins. This volume follows Volumes 1 and 2 (Early and Middle Date Large Cents), Volume 3 (Half Cents), and covers all of the Overton varieties for the entire Flowing Hair series (1794-1795), as well as the Draped Bust series (1796-1807) of Early U.S. Half Dollars. This volume also precedes a guide for Capped Bust Halves.

The primary purpose of this guide is rapid variety identification – while other publications are excellent for inviting in depth home study, this guide is perfect for portability, heavy on-the-go usage, and quick attribution.

The author of this book has had a strong interest in Early U.S. coins for over 30 years. He set out to write this series of books because he has wanted to read them for many years, and finally gave up on waiting for someone else to write them.

Inside, you will find a comprehensive collection of the highest quality, full color, high resolution modern photos available anywhere, which will make attributing your Early Half Dollars easier than ever before. Careful attention to detail was considered in the selection of these photos for only those which show the greatest of useful detail in helping with your attribution and die stage recognition. This guide is written in a classical, though modernized attribution guide format, meaning that you are simply presented with a photo and description of each die. The descriptions of each die are in plain English, designed for those who are complete beginners, as well as those with an intermediate and advanced level of knowledge.

Attributing Bust Halves (or any coin series) begins with taking in the whole picture of the coin. The position of all of the features relative to the other features on each individual coin should be visually taken in the same way that one recognizes the face of a familiar person. The positions of the stars, leaves, berries, letter and number spacing, etc. are universal observations for every attribution. The text descriptions will point out specific, unique features found on each and every die to further guide you. Also, the best kept secret in variety attribution are the dentil alignments relative to the stars and letters below them. Every effort was made to present photos with maximum dentil visibility for this underrated purpose. Use the dentils as your compass. Once you dive in, you will understand this ‘compass concept' all too well.

On the pages immediately following, you will find enlarged photos of the 1794, 1795, 1805, and 1806 (the most complex years to attribute) with augmented lines drawn which represent the location of die cracks and other features found in various die stages on the respective marriage. If you find a die crack on a coin, you will be able to very quickly turn to the page of that die marriage to further confirm the attribution. Note that in this volume (unlike in

Volume 1 Early Date Large Cents) there is no purpose to the various colors of the lines drawn except to make it easy to tell one die crack from another.

Good luck!

 

For more information, or to order, see:
U.S. Early Half Dollars 1794 - 1807 Variety Identification Guide, by Robert Powers (https://www.davidkahnrarecoins.com/u-s-early-half-dollars-1794-1807-variety-identification-guide-by-robert-powers.html)

 

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