1792 HALF DISME......STRANGE DAY

[joeyfresh]

My buddy and neighbor Andy invited me to do a little river detecting today at a train bridge where some Confederate artillery was positioned at a point during the Civil War. There wasn't anywhere to park around there so Andy had his dad, who at a time in his life was an avid relic hunter himself, drop us off and pick us up a little later. The river was very sandy and we didn't find anything but beer cans but it was great practice though as water hunting is new to me and like anything, it takes time to figure out what the heck to do.

After we were done Andy's dad picked us up and took as back to the hood. Since Andy's dad lives right across the street from me, they invited me over to check out his relic collection. It's an awesome collection which includes numerous US plates, a rifle, a spencer carbine, buttons galore and even a bunch of coins which his dad wasn't really into but kept them all as part of his collection. After checking out a box of coppers I moved on to the cup of silver coins which included a bunch of spanish and american silver. One coin immediately caught my eye and somewhere in the back of my brain something clicked so I took some pictures and sent them to Bill D. even though I was 99% sure what it was and sure enough it was a 1792 Half Disme! Holy cow! I was just saying a week earlier how cool it would to find one and even though I didn't find it was awesome to be able to identify and hold a truly awesome coin. The owner of it is really interested on what people though the grade of it is and what they think the value would be. Any ideas?

 

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[Iron Patch]

I believe this one got 20k about a decade ago. Don (SJ) would know. I believe he took this picture.


Edit: Here is the thread and what Don said.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/general-discussion/29369-1792-half-disme-200-250-known-exist.html

 

[trapperart]

I don't know the grade it looks rough but that's one heck of a coin

 

[BigWaveDave]

Given that the coin has some damage, and is worn pretty well, assuming it was dug?.....

That coin is only worth $25 THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!

Probably more.

 

[villagenut]

Probably not worth too much in dug condition, but I will throw an offer at him of ten bucksJust kidding all, so please don't roast me. Wow that is spectacular, I thought at first that you dug it until I read on. How did he find it, or did he remember?

 

[Evolution]

Wow. And he didn't know what he had? That's an amazing coin he has. Does he remember what type pf site he dug it at, what type of signal..depth etc? Congrats to your buddy's dad. Probably at least 10K.

 

[birdman]

What an amazing coin and piece of history!

 

[joeyfresh]

Wow. And he didn't know what he had? That's an amazing coin he has. Does he remember what type pf site he dug it at, what type of signal..depth etc? Congrats to your buddy's dad. Probably at least 10K.

He didn't know at all. All they saw was me examining the coin with a stupid grin on my face. He doesn't know when or where he dug it unfortunately. He knows everything about Civil War relics but nothing about coins so he would come home and put his silver coins in a container.

Imagine what the heck is out there sitting in people's houses that they don't know about!

 

[bergie]

Congrats. Hope you get serious steak dinner minimum as reward. Interesting history is Thomas Jefferson took delivery of 1,500 of them exactly 224 years ago (as of three days ago; July 13, 1792)

 

[1afox]

My father is the guy that found it. I'm hoping he can remember where. He's 82 and back when he was hunting small silver coins did not mean much to him. We hunted for buckles and confederate buttons. Heck up until I met my new neighbor I did not even know what a "cobb" was. Any silver coin with foreign writing was a piece of eight to me. This was back before the "internet" and the only reference material you had was books. I think the only coin book we had back then was a 1967 version of the red book. Buttons well..... thats different. I had no idea that a coin could be so valuable.....

 

[TheGreatNorth]

So... I didn't see anyone else post this, but as an avid collector... I drooled all over the screen at this. That coin has a story behind it that Martha Washington donated her silverware set to melt in order to cast them. Then...those coins personally were handled by both Jefferson and Washington..maybe not individually but in a bag or pouch. Not saying this is all true, but it's been mentioned several times in my reading. Hell of a coin! Thanks for posting!

 

[BigWaveDave]

My father is the guy that found it. I'm hoping he can remember where......

And if he does, pound that ground till it bleeds...there may be more!

 

[joeyfresh]

My father is the guy that found it. I'm hoping he can remember where. He's 82 and back when he was hunting small silver coins did not mean much to him. We hunted for buckles and confederate buttons. Heck up until I met my new neighbor I did not even know what a "cobb" was. Any silver coin with foreign writing was a piece of eight to me. This was back before the "internet" and the only reference material you had was books. I think the only coin book we had back then was a 1967 version of the red book. Buttons well..... thats different. I had no idea that a coin could be so valuable.....

Your dad has an amazing collection of relics Andy!! The whole rifle is incredible as are the quantity and quality of plates and buttons. What's crazy is he has dug more quality coins than most on this forum and they pale in comparison to his other relics. You wonder what other people have that we just don't know about because they do post them on the Internet.

 

[joeyfresh]

Congrats. Hope you get serious steak dinner minimum as reward. Interesting history is Thomas Jefferson took delivery of 1,500 of them exactly 224 years ago (as of three days ago; July 13, 1792)

Did you catch this comment Andy? Since I can't eat red meat I'll settle for a lobster dinner [emoji6]

 

[Scrappy]

Haha! That's awesome! A little bird told me about this today. Wow! To hold that coin must have been a thrill!

 

[UnderMiner]

I would say this one is worth about $29,000-$60,000 at auction. A year's sallary for many! Wow!
Source: Bust Half Dime (1792) Value - PCGS Price Guide

 

[digging440yrs]

Wow---

 

[Professor of Engineering]

What a beautiful piece of American History!

 

[UnderMiner]

Some history of this coin:

When speaking to the House of Representatives in November 1792, President Washington mentioned the "want of small coins in circulation" and stated that he had begun work on establishing a U.S. Mint and that some half dismes had been produced already. At this point, most of the personnel had been hired, but the Mint's buildings and machinery were not yet ready. As a result, the half dismes, which had been struck in or around July 1792, were produced using the private facilities of local craftsman John Harper, although under the auspices of official Mint personnel. In his personal log book, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson recorded the receipt of 1,500 specimens on July 13.
Because of President Washington's connection with these early coins, numismatic folklore holds that the portrait on the obverse is that of First Lady Martha Washington and that some of the coins were struck using melted-down silverware from the Washington household. However, there is no solid evidence for either of these assertions.
Although the exact number is not known, it is believed that between 2,000 and 3,500 specimens were produced. Approximately 10% of these survive today; one expert estimated between 250 and 400 half dismes still exist.

 

[Ahab8]

Damn damn damn!!!!!!!! I'm no coin expert but I will say this....when you start dealing with coins of this magnitude it's not always about condition. It's about having the right 2 collectors with deep pockets and no half disme in their collection to square off. I mean come on now....how many people on this earth own a half Disme? If the right person wants it they will pay a stupid amount of money for it.
I planned on not going out tomorrow then you sent that picture. Thanks a lot bro. Kim's gonna be pissed at you lol