Draped Bust LIHERTY Error

flyadive

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Jun 11, 2012
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image-1105120352.jpg image-2582648236.jpg Found last weekend 1796.. Sweet!
Had it in olive oil for a few days!
 

Groovedymond

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May 23, 2006
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What a great find!

A small correction to your statement. What you have here is not an "error" per say. Rather, just die variety. When this coin was struck, the US mint was only 3 years old. The Mint had gone through many coin designers by this time (some dying from yellow fever and such). When these dies were hand carved, you can imagine that they were done in dimly lit situations. In addition, having multiple die carvers added to the varieties.

There are many die varieties of this year. Luckily, there are only two major LIHERTY varieties. The S-103 and S-104.

You have an S-104. You can tell very easily by the denominator on the reverse. Notice how the 1 in 1/100 is raised above the enumerator bar. On the S-103, the 1 is touching the bar. On the S-104, it is high above.

Your S-104 has an R3 rating which means there are roughly only 300-400 known to exist. Ebay shows this variety going for about $80.00 in poor/fair condition, up to $10,000 in VF+ condition. Yours would obviously not grade (enviromental damage), but it will be interesting to see what details are left after your cleaning. Could still be a $100-$200 coin just by it's rarity alone!

Great find!

Here are images of a well preserved S-104 from an auction.
1796 S-104 R3+ Draped Bust with LIHERTY Obverse - Obverse.jpg 1796 S-104 R3+ Draped Bust with LIHERTY Obverse - Reverse.jpg
 

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flyadive

flyadive

Bronze Member
Jun 11, 2012
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What a great find! A small correction to your statement. What you have here is not an "error" per say. Rather, just die variety. When this coin was struck, the US mint was only 3 years old. The Mint had gone through many coin designers by this time (some dying from yellow fever and such). When these dies were hand carved, you can imagine that they were done in dimly lit situations. In addition, having multiple die carvers added to the varieties. There are many die varieties of this year. Luckily, there are only two major LIHERTY varieties. The S-103 and S-104. You have an S-104. You can tell very easily by the denominator on the reverse. Notice how the 1 in 1/100 is raised above the enumerator bar. On the S-103, the 1 is touching the bar. On the S-104, it is high above. Your S-104 has an R3 rating which means there are roughly only 300-400 known to exist. Ebay shows this variety going for about $80.00 in poor/fair condition, up to $10,000 in VF+ condition. Yours would obviously not grade (enviromental damage), but it will be interesting to see what details are left after your cleaning. Could still be a $100-$200 coin just by it's rarity alone! Great find! Here are images of a well preserved S-104 from an auction. <img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1076107"/><img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1076108"/>

Groovedymond, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to reply in such detail. That's the kind of reply's I like to hear! whether good or bad!
The Red Book says it is an error coin, I see what your saying though about die verities! Finally a coin I can brag about!
I will be returning to the area again this weekend, still much to hunt.
HH
 

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