1794 flowing hair half dime condition and value

[DigIron2]

Found my best coin find at the end of a long day digging nothing but shotgun shells and iron, I ended up swinging my machine over this half dime.Tired after a long days hunt,and being in a hurry to get what ever it was out the ground,"about 9 inches deep", I damaged it right above liberty.I could kick myself in the a.s.s for damaging it,but it could have been worse.For now on i take my time.Live and learn.I was hoping someone could give me some kind of idea about condition and value with the damage.Thank you!

 

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[NHBandit]

Holy hell ! No idea the exact value but a quick look online tells me you cost yourself some money with that mistake. To me it dosn't look too bad but if you sent it out to be certified it is likely to come back marked "damaged" and that's never good. On the other hand it's way more valuable than anything I've ever found and I'm going to nominate it for the banner. Watching to see what the experts say.

 

[DigIron2]

I am just lucky i didn't totally destroy it.Dug it out of somewhat rocky soil with a pick ax.i think i rubbed it against a rock.Thanks allot man!

 

[Joe777Cool]

Got some pretty nice detail. Id say high F to low VF for the obverse, and high VF to low XF on the reverse (wing feather detail). However considering the wear on the rim on both sides and the damage already spoken of this is a real tough one. You need to take this to a coin expert and get their opinion - maybe send off to be graded?

 

[NHBandit]

I'm going to go out on a limb and call it "fine" condition based on the 2012 Blue book I have. Value according to that is $1250 but with something this rare I would never trust a book.

 

[Smooth Blend]

Congrats on your find!

hope you find much more when you go back out there to hunt.

 

[DigIron2]

Thanks allot guys.I would like to bump into his bigger brothers one day.OOPs,I guess bump is the wrong word to useI am waiting for the snow to melt and ground to thaw.Good luck on your hunts

 

[TypeCoin971793]

Now THAT is a HECKUVA COIN!!!!!!!!! The damage is not that bad; from your description, it sounded a whole lot worse. I've seen worse in holders that were not net-graded, given those were more-common, large-size coins. The detail on that thing is astounding! I would grade it as a strong EF-40 "Details." Assuming you did not clean it with anything more than a rinse of water and maybe some soap, the net grade on that coin should be about a VF-30 or so.

If you are talking about the scrape over Liberty being the damage, then you might not know what adjustment marks are. In the first 10 years of US coinage, it was common practice for the mint employees to file off excess weight from silver and gold planchets (metal discs before being struck by dies) in order to make them up to specification. Most silver coins of this era have them, and I think that's what's going on with your coin. Further examination may prove otherwise, but that is my opinion.

PCGS Photograde Online

Now the important part. ASSUMING IT IS GENUINE, it should be worth about $4000, give or take $500, depending on the lustre.

Nominating Banner for sure! Congrats on your find!

 

[DigIron2]

Thanks for the information.But i did hit it.Ill post another picture from a different view.as far as cleaning i just lightly rubbed it with soap and warm water.I am pretty sure it is authentic just because of the fact of how deep it was.But i am aware they counterfeited a long time ago too.

 

[TypeCoin971793]

I know it's been hit. I saw the dings above the I in Liberty. I was talking about the scrape on Liberty. I can't really tell what that is: damage or adjustment marks.

 

[DigIron2]

I see what your talking about now.No the damage does not touch liberty.just on the rim

 

[Mach1Pilot]

Awesome! You need to move this to today's finds so it can be on the banner! The 1794 is much lower mintage than the 1795... At least from what I remember when I dug one a few years back. Congrats!

 

[beth71070]

I would faint dead away if I dug something even remotely that cool!!!! WTG!!!!

 

[cudamark]

I'd give it a net Fine for wear. The damage and the weak rim areas on both sides will downgrade the value however. Assuming it's genuine, it's probably around a $1000-1200 coin. Still an excellent find!

 

[TypeCoin971793]

I'd give it a net Fine for wear. The damage and the weak rim areas on both sides will downgrade the value however. Assuming it's genuine, it's probably around a $1000-1200 coin. Still an excellent find!

The wear pattern is most definitely that of an EF-40. Just check out the PCGS Photograde link in my above post.

The weak rims mean nothing. They are very common in this series, as evidenced by this eBay listing of a PCGS certified 1795 half dime.

1795 Flowing Hair Half Dime CAC VF30 PCGS | eBay

I honestly do not think the damage is severe enough to net down to Fine. I think it would downgrade to VF-20 at the lowest.

 

[CoinHELP!]

If this coin is authentic then it should grade VF details How To Grade Flowing Silver Dollars - Picture Grade Comparison Chart

PCGS, NGC, and ANACS will net grade a problem coin. However, it needs to be authenticated by one of these services. A mint state example will weigh 21 grains and a worn coin will weigh a little less, but not much. If it's authentic and net grades VF then the coin is worth around $3,000+ as it looks.

It's a great find and hope you do have it authenticated and post the results.

 

[DigIron2]

thanks for the help guys.

 

[beth71070]

just to let you know, I had to go back to your original post (LOVE IT!) of your find and nominated it for a banner....This one is very deserving!!!!

 

[Joe777Cool]

Nominated!

 

[DigIron2]

Thanks guys!