By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

An 1802 half dime has ‘made the news.’ In a special Spring Internet-Only auction conducted by David Lawrence Rare Coins (DLRC), one has sold for $135,125! It is only the second time, as far as I know, that an 1802 half dime has realized a six-figure price. This 1802 is graded Very Fine-30 by the Professional Coin Grading Service. The auction closed on April 3, and the buyer is from New England. So, I will call this coin the ‘New England’ 1802 half dime.

This collector-buyer has also acquired other Bust silver coins. With some exceptions, U.S. silver coins dating from 1796 to the late 1830s are Bust Silver Coins. Initially, a Draped Bust, and, later, a Capped Bust portrait of Miss Liberty appeared on the obverse (front).

From the 1860s to around 1915, collectors were very enthusiastic about 1802 half dimes, particularly in the late 19th century. Those who could not afford to buy one often talked about them. People liked to hear and read about them. Every time an 1802 half dime was offered at auction, a large percentage of the bidders and observers would clamor to see it. In most decades since, very early silver and gold coins have not been nearly as popular as other series. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was dramatically more interest in very choice and gem quality uncirculated, 19th century coins.

Since the onset of the 21st century, particularly from 2004 to the present, bust silver coins have become more popular than they were during most of the 20th century. Demand for circulated rarities in Bust silver series, in particular, has markedly increased.

An uncirculated 1802 half dime does not exist. Two have been graded “AU-55” by the PCGS and three have been graded “AU-50” by the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC). Some of these, however, were called Very Fine or Extremely Fine, in other time periods. There is no way that any 1802 half dime that I have seen, or been reliably informed about, could reasonably be graded uncirculated.

I have not seen the 1802 that DLRC just sold. It seems like it might be a naturally toned, evenly worn coin without any serious problems. It is the same 1802 that was offered by Heritage in the 2006 ANA Sale. More recently, a Connecticut dealer was offering it for sale.

In April 2006, Heritage auctioned an 1802 half dime for a record $299,000. It is PCGS graded EF-45.An example that grades EF-40 or higher had not been on the market for a long time. The successful bidder and the underbidder may have concluded that this date is rarer than most experts realize, and that a high-grade example should be grabbed when the opportunity presents itself.

Jules Reiver had almost every single date and die variety of all Bust silver series. He did not have an 1802 half dime. According to a Heritage cataloger, Reiver felt that he was in no hurry to buy an 1802, because he could always find one. He collected coins for many decades and then he died. He, and many others, may have underestimated the rarity of 1802 half dimes.

Emily May Holden Norweb, and her father, together or separately, collected coins for roughly seven decades. The auctions of the Norweb family collection, in 1987-88, did not include an 1802 half dime.

As for the 1802 that sold for a record $299,000 in April 2006, the Heritage catalogue refers to it as being from the Steve Glenn collection. John Feigenbaum, the President of DLRC, is “absolutely positive” that he sold this “same coin in 1999” to Jonathan Kern. Earlier that year, DLRC and a Pennsylvania dealer jointly acquired a Virginia collector’s holding of Bust coins that was nearly complete in terms of business strikes. When Feigenbaum sold this 1802, it was PCGS graded VF-35, and Feigenbaum then thought that it might be “undergraded.” By 2006, it was PCGS graded EF-45.

Stephen Crain, a leading half dime specialist, reports that he remembers seeing an 1802 half dime at “Jonathan Kern’s table” during a Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention. Crain thought it “was in the EF45/AU-50 grade range,” and that it “had not been previously recorded.” He and a New Jersey collector concluded that it “was the long missing Dr. Daniel W. Valentine example.” In 1931, Valentine published a framework for identifying and labeling die varieties of half dimes. Kern seems certain that it is “the Valentine Plate coin.” I will call this coin the Valentine-Glenn 1802.

In 2003, this New Jersey collector submitted the Parmelee-Pittman 1802 to the NGC and it was graded “AU-50.” The name of this New Jersey collector can be found in other publications. I will not mention the name of a collector without his permission, unless his name appears in the PCGS or NGC registries, as a consignor in an auction catalogue, or several times in coin-related media. This same New Jersey collector owned another 1802 half dime, said to grade EF-40.

I attended the auctions of the John J. Pittman collection, which were conducted by the firm of David Akers. I clearly remember the Parmelee-Pittman 1802. It had many distracting, somewhat deep, circular contact marks, and other problems. It has readily apparent, actual wear, though both the coin’s wear and its toning are well balanced. It has (or had) pleasant russet toning, with tan, and touches of other colors. There are scratches in the fields in addition to the serious contact marks. In October 1997, I thought that a net grade of VF-30 to EF-40 was in order. Akers graded it “Extremely Fine.”

In fairness to NGC, it should be noted that this coin might have further naturally toned in the interim, as silver coins often do. Contact marks and scratches are less of an issue when somewhat covered by attractive, natural, even toning.

In November 2003, through another dealer, DLRC purchased this New Jersey collector’s primary set of Bust dimes, including the Parmelee-Pittman 1802. It is not clear as to whether this New Jersey collector still owned the set at the time. DLRC sold the Parmelee-Pittman 1802 half dime to a collector in January 2004.

John Feigenbaum reports that DLRC has handled a total of four 1802 half dimes. Another NGC graded AU-50 1802, not the Pittman coin, was unsuccessfully offered at auction in July 2004. The collector-owner consigned it again to DLRC in 2005, to be sold privately. The collector-buyer in 2005 was not aiming to complete a set of Bust half dimes. Instead, he collects ‘key dates’ of various series.

In Jan. 1998, August 2000, Jan. 2001, and May 2001, the same 1802 half dime was offered at auction. It is NGC certified “AU-50” at least since 2001. The Heritage cataloger pedigrees it to several landmark collections, most notably those of James Wilson, H. O. Granberg, and William Atwater. As the mail bid sale of the Atwater collection in 1946 still receives a great deal of attention, and the Atwater collection was phenomenal for many reasons, it is best to call this coin the Atwater 1802. My impression, though I am not completely certain, is that the NGC graded AU-50 coin that DLRC sold privately in 2005 is this same Atwater 1802 half dime.

So, the Parmelee-Pittman and Atwater pieces are both NGC graded AU-50. In Jan. 2003, Superior Galleries auctioned an 1802, NGC AU-50, for $74,750. I did not attend this sale, and I do not have a copy of the catalogue. If it was not a sixth recent auction appearance of the Atwater 1802, it was the third that the NGC has graded AU-50. The identities of the two that the PCGS has graded “AU-55” remain a mystery to me.

Louis Eliasberg formed the greatest collection of U.S. coins of all time. His U.S. copper coins, nickels, half dimes and dimes were auctioned in May 1996. I vaguely remember the Eliasberg 1802 as having natural, tan and russet even toning about the outer fields, outer devices (letters, numerals, obv. stars) and periphery. I also remember the coin having technical problems, and an overall awkward appearance. The cataloger said that it had been “polished” very long ago. The successful bidder was a dealer from the New York Metropolitan area. I doubt that the Eliasberg 1802 has been PCGS graded AU-55, and it is questionable as to whether PCGS would grade it at all?

The Garrett 1802 half dime was auctioned by Bowers & Ruddy for $45,000 in November 1979. Q. David Bowers graded it as “Extremely-Fine 45.” The description and pictures in the Garrett I catalogue are impressive. As I have not seen the coin, nor recently heard anything about it, I cannot say more, other than to point out that it is a logical to consider the possibility that it is one of the 1802 half dimes to which PCGS awarded an AU-55 grade.

Kern believes that the Garrett 1802 is one of the two finest. It was one of a few 1802 half dimes that Jay Parrino handled in the 1990s. Parrino also owned an NGC graded AU-50 example after the year 2000, possibly the Atwater 1802?

Parrino’s favorite 1802 was the one that he showed to me on two occasions. While he sold the others relatively quickly, this one he kept for years. When he eventually advertised this one, he did say that one of the others might be of a higher grade and that this one was “flawless” and more appealing. From a technical and aesthetic perspective, it is the finest 1802 half dime that I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I misplaced my notes about it.

More than a dozen years ago, it was very conservatively, PCGS graded EF-40. I would not be shocked if it has since been PCGS certified EF-45 or even AU-55! It had terrific natural toning; a smooth light to medium russet shade covered most of the coin. It was well struck for the date, and had no detracting marks or scratches. If my memory serves me correctly (?), there was no evidence of it ever being cleaned or dipped. Parrino had been told that it was from the “Virgil Brand” collection.

Virgil Brand was a beer mogul who died in 1926. His massive collection, including many duplicates, was distributed privately, by his relatives, over a long period of time. Brand pedigrees are typically hard to document. As Parrino owned it for several years, it is fair to name it the Parrino 1802 half dime.

There is also the very realistic possibility that the two PCGS graded AU-55s are the same coin. It may have been ‘cracked out’ of its holder and resubmitted, in hopes of a higher grade. Alternately, a collector could have removed it from its holder for emotional reasons, and then, years later, sold it to a dealer, or another collector, who resubmitted it.

Most 1802 half dimes are heavily worn or have serious technical problems, or both! These are appealing in their own individual ways, and often represent excellent price values. Among problematic 1802 half dimes, at least two are in NCS holders, and I believe at least two are in ANACS holders. The Childs family 1802, which has serious technical problems, was purchased by a New York collector at auction on August 30, 1999. It has never been submitted to PCGS or NGC.

My research on 1802 half dimes, admittedly done in less than two weeks, is far from complete. I have, though, been following coin auctions, and researching them, for a very long time. There is no one who has both attended and reviewed more auctions. In the future, I hope to gather more information regarding 1802 half dimes for the purpose of detailing condition rankings and developing a hypothesis regarding the number that survive.

Estimates of thirty-five or more 1802 half dimes extant have been put forth since the 1930s, in articles, books and auction catalogues. Many such estimates stem from the researching of auction catalogues.

From the 1920s until fairly recently, the illustrations in the catalogues of almost all auctions, including epic events, were of very low quality. Furthermore, auction company officials sometimes wished to obfuscate the fact that the same coin had recently been offered in another auction of theirs, or in a past auction by one of their competitors. Moreover, the appearances of coins, especially silver coins, change over time. In general, the reliability of pedigree research done by ‘plate matching’ (comparisons of pictures) is highly questionable. There is a need to view coins and to interview experts who have done so.

Several of the greatest collections of all time were auctioned in the 1990s. Almost all of the high-grade, highly valued coins included have been submitted to PCGS or NGC at one time or another. The fourteen 1802 half dimes that have been graded by PCGS or NGC probably represent eight to ten different coins. Maybe NCS, ANACS, and another service, have together certified from four to seven different 1802 half dimes that never found their way into PCGS or NGC holders. I am not prepared to estimate the number of never-certified examples.

Even if there are thirty-five or more, it is still an exciting issue that is, increasingly, being appreciated and sought after by serious collectors and other coin enthusiasts. The 1802 half dime may never again be as famous as it was in the late 19th century. Collecting trends are cyclical, though, and there has already been a resurgence in interest in 1802 half dimes and other circulated rarities, such as 1817/4 half dollars. Possibly, a ground swelling has begun?

© 2007 Greg Reynolds

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