Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins 1722-1989

1843

*Half Cent. Small date, 8 recut; large berries, the die of 1840-42. (1) ANS. (2) Mint, SI. (3) Cased set ex Neil (see Complete Proof Sets, below). (4) Mills:1443, Clapp, Eliasberg. Double struck rev., the die probably loose in its stake between impressions. (5) "Dupont":1135, D.N., TAD. (6) T. James Clarke:474. (7) NN 51:1217. (8) Gardner coll. (9) Holmes: 1337. (10) LM 10/66:134. (11) Swiss estate, LM 3/68:152, LM 2/72:59, 83.2 grains. (12) Holmes: 1338, VF. (13) "Century": 110, worn. Plus several others, and at least four restrikes from the same dies (see Restrikes and Fantasy Pieces, below).

Cent. Large dates from now on through 1856, though some variation occurs. Type of 1842. *N-14. Dull curl point above center of upright of 4; left base of 1 almost touches r. edge of dentil; perfect rev. die, no die file marks. (1) Mint, SI. (2) Andrews (as "A-I"), Newcomb II:736, Floyd Starr, 1949 ANA: 1777. (3) Oscar J. Pearl, T. James Clarke: 325. (4) J. G. MacAllister, T. James Clarke:324. (5) Geiss: 224. (6) Lahrman:474. (7) B. Frank: 27. (8) Swiss estate, LM 3/68:189, weak strike. (9) Beckwith: 100, W. F. Morgan:333, B. Max Mehl, T. James Clarke, pvt. sale. (10) Cased set ex Neil (see Complete Proof Sets, below). Others doubtless exist.

- *B-19. Obv. N-14 as above. Rev. Die file marks through NI and ERI, this die also found with other obvs. on business strikes. W. C. Blaisdell.

- B-17. Obv. N-12. Rev. As preceding. Calif. Specialist.

- Obv. of 1842, rev. of 1844, N-4. J. Grier Ralston, Mougey: 230, unverified.
Half Dime. *V-1A. High date, nearly touching base; spur above first T in STATES. (1) Bullowa, May 1952. (2) The Dr. D. W. Valentine coin, pictured in his book. (3) Lester Merkin auction, April 1966:76 at $330, B.W., 1971 ANA: 621, Reed Hawn: 597 at $435. At least one other reported.

-*Not in V, "B-7". Lower date, double punched, first cut too low then corrected, some doubling on all four digits. (1) Smithsonian, from Mint proof set. Impaired. (2) That in the cased set ex Neil: 2292 is believed to be this variety, though the photograph available to me is not as clear as I could wish. (3) WGC: 232. (4) The former Brand, NN coin. (5) Philadelphia Estate, ex Allenburger: 1017. (6) One other seen in the 1950's. Others reported.

Dime. B-1. Normal date, heavy numerals, placed low. (1) The cased set ex Neil: 2292. (2) Smithsonian, from Mint proof set. (3) WGC: 523. (4) Atwater: 936, slightly impaired. (5) Dunham: 170, obv. proof, rev. unc. Dr. C. W. Green: 1177 (1949) may possibly be a reappearance of the WGC coin; Baldenhofer: 559, impaired, may possibly be a reappearance of Atwater's. I know I have seen several others.

Quarter. Date very slightly below center. (1) The cased set ex Neil: 2292. (2) SI, from Mint proof set. (?). (3) T. L. Smith (June, 1957), lot 529. (4) Allenburger: 1015, Phila. Estate. Left stars flat. (5) 1946 ANA: 442. (6) Davis-Graves: 354, impaired. I have seen at least two others, one of them drastically cleaned.

Half Dollar. Possibly Beistle I-A. Date slightly above center, slanting up to right, die file marks horizontally at left rocky base; shield point over r. edge of 1, left base of lover space; rev. crack from E(S) to (L)F. (1) Cased set ex Neil: 2292. (2) Allenburger: 1103, McPherson: 924, Cass, "Empire": 1361, irregularly toned. (3) SI ex Mint (?). (4) Cleaned proof formerly in the writer's collection. (5) 1975 ANA: 561, ex Adolph Friedman, 1946 ANA: 817, E. M. Seneca, S 3/65:444. (6) 1948 ANA: 1771, cleaned. W. L. Carson's many have been almost any of these.

Silver Dollar. *B-3. Date a trifle above center; rev. of other dates in this period, two minute defects on r. side of final A. (1) SI ex Mint. (2) WGC:131, Kern:813, "J. H. South":805. (3) Cased set ex Neil: 2292. (4) Geiss:337, Phila. Estate. (5) Cass, "Empire":1725. (6) Golding:234, impaired. (7) Amon Carter Sr. & Jr., nicked. (8) Col. Green, Roe:438.

For all years 1840-57 inclusive, especially 1840-50, most of all 1843 and 1847, deceptive first strikes exist in this denomination. These usually have areas of imperfect die polishing, often around letters or within shield, imperfect detail definition such as partly flattened areas on wings or claws or Ms. Liberty's head, together with bag marks by the hundred. They are not to be confused with real proofs, though many dealers and collectors unfamiliar with the genuine article will automatically make the allegedly more profitable assumption . . . to which (seeing their shamed and bewildered faces uncomprehending why their treasures have not brought prices somewhere up in orbit) I can only reply: it there is the slightest doubt, don't sell it as a proof. Striking quality and die identity are the safest criteria.

Silver-Minor Proof Sets. (1) Winsor: 1067. Ex President John Tyler, a presentation set to some unnamed constituent, occasion unknown; this cost Winsor $100 in 1880. (2) Stickney: 1787, from the Mint in the year of issue, possibly broken up. Half-cent is original in this as in the Tyler-Winsor set, but dollar and half dollar are business strikes! It would appear that the confusion mentioned at the beginning of this section, on the part of mint personnel, between true proofs and uncirculated coins furnished to collectors, dated back at least this far. It is barely possible that the coiner had run out of proofs by the time Stickney's request was processed; slightly more possible that the dollar and half dollar had been replaced by unc. examples; but much more likely (in view of later instances of this kind of thing) that the mint personnel made little effort to provide optimal specimens for collectors then as now.