1800 Draped Bust Dime!!!!!!!!!!!!

1235CE

Hero Member
May 23, 2006
663
195
The Beautiful Berkshires in Western Mass.
Detector(s) used
White's DFX
Hello all.......I cannot believe what I found tonight!!!!!.........well, let me back up 3 years to let you know how I ended up swinging a loop where I did after work tonight......my brother works with a guy who happens to own about 500 acres of hay fields (all neatly divided by old stone walls) in Western Mass. (The Beautiful Berkshires)

He learned of our hobby and said (3 years ago) to help yourself to checking out my fields anytime you want and we hit the fields hard for the first year with only a Buffalo nickel to show for our efforts. The next year (2007) I took a friend of mine out into the very middle of one field and completely out of the blue we found 3 Large Cents within about 10 feet of each other (1801,1803 Draped Bust and a really nice 1787 NJ Copper)........and so we POUNDED that one particular field for the rest of that summer and NOTHING else. I mean literally coming home with clean hands.

I did not even hit these fields at all last year and then last week, lacking for a new place to go, I decided to back to the "Large Cent Field"........this time something caught my eye near the edge of the field.......it was 4 square field stones, in the shape of a square (maybe a 20x20 shack, house, cabin, who knows?......and this "foundation" was about 200 feet from where the Large Cents came from.......so I start focusing on this area and I immediately get an 1906 Indian Head at about 4 inches and then 5 feet from that I get a quarter signal (+87 on my XLT) also at 4 inches and I was THRILLED to pull out an 1918-s Standing Liberty Quarter........it's been a REALLY slow year for me and this was only my 6th silver all year........so yes, I was VERY HAPPY!

Was thinking about that spot all week and finally got a chance to go back tonight and grid out a larger area, moving away from the 4 stones, getting closer to the spot where the large cents came from........with clean hands and daylight going away fast I was really just roaming around a little, getting ready to head home when I get a +74/+75 reading and when I checked the depth it was coming up around 5 inches.........hmmmm......that's a deep Wheat Cent I thought and dug my plug..................it fell right out of the very bottom of my plug into my hands.........thought I had Spanish silver at first until I saw "Liberty"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........knew exactly what it was and with trembling hands and knees somehow drove home..........This is my very best find of my life and I am sooooo happy to be able to share it with you all!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a couple questions and please feel free to chime in with any grade and/or value you may think.......I am thinking Fine but that is really just a guess.........and does anyone see something odd with the "18" in the date......maybe a re-cut die?.........also, are Draped Bust Dimes attributed like other coins? I'm very curious if someone can put a rarity or variety number on this.........thank you all for reading this and looking at the pics, may you all stumble across something like this very soon.

HH all!

Greg
(yes, I'm going back to that field in the morning :-)
 

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Upvote 19

DrJoePrime

Bronze Member
Sep 9, 2007
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Long Beach, California
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Congrats! Yeah ... BANNER

Beautiful, historic coin laying buried there all those years and just waiting for you to find it ....FANTASTIC!

I played with the color to get it closer to silver (I'm weird that way) what do you think?

HH Joe
 

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Don in SJ

Silver Member
May 20, 2005
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Congrats on Banner, well deserved, without a doubt!!!!!

I stand by my earlier assessment that the coin is not a overdate. For those seeing an overdate, ask yourself, what would it be overdating? If the answer is the 1798, then I suggest you look at the 4 known varieties of 1798 and compare positions of their date, the stars (positions) and the lettering alignments in relation to the hair curls and you will not find a match, thus it could not have been made from a 1798 die and just changing the date on it.

I still believe you are seeing imperfections and dirt and imagination, if I am wrong so be it, but the odds are it is a 1800 and that is great enough to say!. :icon_thumleft:

New varieties are commonly being found in the colonial coin world due to so many counterfeits and the fact that colonial coin collecting is relatively new, compared to US coinage and the more collectors into it the more information is forthcoming and of course metal detectorists are a big contributing factor in discovering new varieties, but in the known US regular mint issue world, new varieties are rare.

I have also had one reply from a US coin very knowledgeable collector and he has agreed with me that it is a JR-1 variety and he says the same die chip next to the 8 is also on the finest known example of a JR-1, meaning it is from the same die.

Don
 

Cynangyl

Gold Member
Apr 12, 2007
11,346
78
God's lap
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ACE 250
Nicely done my friend!! Congrats!!
 

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OP
OP
1235CE

1235CE

Hero Member
May 23, 2006
663
195
The Beautiful Berkshires in Western Mass.
Detector(s) used
White's DFX
DrJoePrime said:
Congrats! Yeah ... BANNER

Beautiful, historic coin laying buried there all those years and just waiting for you to find it ....FANTASTIC!

I played with the color to get it closer to silver (I'm weird that way) what do you think?

HH Joe

Very nice Joe!!!.....thanks!!......it's my new wallpaper!!!
 

OP
OP
1235CE

1235CE

Hero Member
May 23, 2006
663
195
The Beautiful Berkshires in Western Mass.
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White's DFX
Don in SJ said:
Congrats on Banner, well deserved, without a doubt!!!!!

I stand by my earlier assessment that the coin is not a overdate. For those seeing an overdate, ask yourself, what would it be overdating? If the answer is the 1798, then I suggest you look at the 4 known varieties of 1798 and compare positions of their date, the stars (positions) and the lettering alignments in relation to the hair curls and you will not find a match, thus it could not have been made from a 1798 die and just changing the date on it.

I still believe you are seeing imperfections and dirt and imagination, if I am wrong so be it, but the odds are it is a 1800 and that is great enough to say!. :icon_thumleft:

New varieties are commonly being found in the colonial coin world due to so many counterfeits and the fact that colonial coin collecting is relatively new, compared to US coinage and the more collectors into it the more information is forthcoming and of course metal detectorists are a big contributing factor in discovering new varieties, but in the known US regular mint issue world, new varieties are rare.

I have also had one reply from a US coin very knowledgeable collector and he has agreed with me that it is a JR-1 variety and he says the same die chip next to the 8 is also on the finest known example of a JR-1, meaning it is from the same die.

Don

Thank you Don, really, for all of the time and thought you have given to my find.....Someone suggested that I send my pics and pose my questions to Northeast Numismatics here in Mass, which I did this morning and here is their reply.......ok, ok.....so it's probably just a plain Jane 1800.......lol......(but I'm still gonna send it in to NCS)

By the way, I'm included this companies info at the bottom as a courtesy because it just seems like a company that is very customer service oriented, happy to take pictures, happy to help me send it out for grading, happy to send it off to a couple more experts, all companies should act and respond this way :-)

"Hi Greg. Congratulations on an interesting find! I got carried away looking at your images and others...my eyes are still blurry. Based on your photos, the coin appears to be a JR-1. I see where you and others are pointing out areas that appear to be an underdate, but I'm just not seeing it. Can you perhaps take a few more pictures? Keep them as high-res as your camera can take and then send me the raw images. Try a few different lighting sources, also.

Here are a couple of options you may want to consider. If you can't get a clearer image of the coin, we'd be happy to take some photos for you. You can then post these photos on the message board so it will give folks a few more shots to look at. We can also email those photos to a specialist or two that we know of who might be able to help. Another option is to send the coin in to a grading service for authentication and varietal attribution. If you don't have direct submission privileges to either of the services, we'd be happy to submit it for you.

I'm not sure how far out in Western Mass you are, but if you are up for a drive to Concord, we'd be happy to take a look at the coin (and as mentioned, take a few more photos). Again, congrats on what appears to be a very cool find."

Regards,

Chris

Northeast Numismatics
10 Concord Crossing, Ste. 220
Concord, MA 01742
800.449.2646
 

Silver Searcher

Gold Member
Sep 27, 2006
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Congratulations on a fantastic find :notworthy:

being from the UK I didn't know much about your find :dontknow: so I googled it :o :o :o :o :o :o WOW

Rocking Horse something comes to mind :D and the prices for those coins :o :o :o :o

I can understand why you didn't sleep when you found it :)

Weldone again, and Congratulations on making the BANNER :headbang:

SS.
 

time4me

Bronze Member
Aug 30, 2005
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Just beautiful! I can't even imagine how you must have felt seeing that fall out of your dirt into your hand.

Congratulations!!!
 

kimsdad

Silver Member
Apr 17, 2008
4,692
24
Moronica, northwest of Chicago.
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How'd I miss this???!!!

Please let me throw my congrats on the heap for this amazing find!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :icon_king: :occasion14:

Looks like you definitely went for quality over quantity this year! :)
 

Xerox Guy

Newbie
Sep 2, 2009
1
0
Green Bay, WI
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White's Eagle Spectrum
First of all, Congratulations on your find! I am an expert in Bust coinage and have been heavy in the industry for many years. My specialty is Bust Half Dollars which I collect by Overton varieties. I currently have 292 different varieties from 1794 to 1836. I have myself found new varieties over the years. I believe you have done the same with your dime. Please send it to PCGS for evaluation. As a coin in Fine condition with environmental damage, the true value of your coin is about $800. If attributed as a new variety, the value will increase to over $10,000. Definitely worth a few bucks to have slabbed. If you'd prefer to have multiple opinions and not have the coin leave your hands, attend one of the larger coin shows around the country. Most industry experts attend these shows.
The key thing to remember about Bust coins is that they were minted on large screw like presses. Dies wore out easily and were either reworked on site or reused at a later time. In my opinion, your coin may have been a trial piece struck from a recycled die at the beginning of the 1800 mintage season. Being only 22,000 coins were minted, it's safe to assume that if your coin was a trial, very few would have been produced. Take into account that most were lost to the ground, such as your own, or were melted, you may have an extreme rarity. Coin rarity ratings are generally rated between R-1 to R-8, with R-8 being 1 or 2 pieces known. Your coin would likely be an R-8 if proven authentic. Bust Half dollars with R-8 ratings generally sell for $50,000 or more. I'm sure your dime would be in the same category of desirability. I hate to get your hopes up, but from the pictures I've seen on here and from what I know personally about the Bust coinage, I believe you have a lot to smile about. Again, Congratulations!
 

Deno

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Dec 22, 2008
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Fern Creek Ky
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Welcome to the club. I know that felt good. I have said it a thousand times, this is the best hobby
in the world. Per my Walter Breens there are 2 varieties, narrow A's and wide A's. I would get
a number of professional opinions. If you do have a unknown variety you will be in the major bucks.
Congratulations on the find of a lifetime.
 

Michiganne

Silver Member
Mar 27, 2007
4,402
550
SW Michigan
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Congrats on a fantastic find!! :icon_thumleft: Banner, too. Good luck on future hunts there!

HH
 

Tnmountains

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 27, 2009
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Wheeww I was a nervous wreck thinking it would not make banner :icon_sunny:
Great recovery . Congratulations

TnMtns
 

civilman1

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Nov 29, 2005
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BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

OP
OP
1235CE

1235CE

Hero Member
May 23, 2006
663
195
The Beautiful Berkshires in Western Mass.
Detector(s) used
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Xerox Guy said:
First of all, Congratulations on your find! I am an expert in Bust coinage and have been heavy in the industry for many years. My specialty is Bust Half Dollars which I collect by Overton varieties. I currently have 292 different varieties from 1794 to 1836. I have myself found new varieties over the years. I believe you have done the same with your dime. Please send it to PCGS for evaluation. As a coin in Fine condition with environmental damage, the true value of your coin is about $800. If attributed as a new variety, the value will increase to over $10,000. Definitely worth a few bucks to have slabbed. If you'd prefer to have multiple opinions and not have the coin leave your hands, attend one of the larger coin shows around the country. Most industry experts attend these shows.
The key thing to remember about Bust coins is that they were minted on large screw like presses. Dies wore out easily and were either reworked on site or reused at a later time. In my opinion, your coin may have been a trial piece struck from a recycled die at the beginning of the 1800 mintage season. Being only 22,000 coins were minted, it's safe to assume that if your coin was a trial, very few would have been produced. Take into account that most were lost to the ground, such as your own, or were melted, you may have an extreme rarity. Coin rarity ratings are generally rated between R-1 to R-8, with R-8 being 1 or 2 pieces known. Your coin would likely be an R-8 if proven authentic. Bust Half dollars with R-8 ratings generally sell for $50,000 or more. I'm sure your dime would be in the same category of desirability. I hate to get your hopes up, but from the pictures I've seen on here and from what I know personally about the Bust coinage, I believe you have a lot to smile about. Again, Congratulations!

Thank you very much for your insight into my find, I really appreciate it!!!......If I could tap into your vast knowledge a little bit........Could you tell me maybe what you are seeing that leads you to believe this may be a new variety?.......I know what I (and others) are seeing, but this is all through layman's eyes......

When you say maybe a new variety are you thinking 1798 as an underdate or something completely different?.......also, I am going to get this slabbed and already have a local dealer who will be making the submission for me but I was thinking NCS due to the fact that it is a ground find..........wouldn't PCGS send my coin back in a "body bag"........or maybe you believe they would grade it due to it maybe being a new variety?............thank you again for your help, also, I noticed that this was your first post on Treasurenet so WELCOME!!!........the more experts we have on here the better!!!!......

HH all!

Greg
 

cheffer

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Sep 17, 2004
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Greg,

Unbelievable, congratulation on an incredible find and making the banner. I'm glad to see they put it up there so quickly.

Are you getting eaten alive by the bugs here in the Berkshire like I am? I went up to some old fields near Greylock last night and they were relentless. Can't wait for the first couple frosts.

Let me know if you guys are ever looking for someone to join you. I live in Pittsfield, mostly go out by myself when I can find the time.

Congratulations again,
Steve
 

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