Lot 1039
1820 Capped Bust Dime. Large 0. NGC graded MS-65. So-called Office Boy reverse (JR-2). A decent strike except for the usual weakness on stars 8 thru 13. Complete frosty mint lustre with a mixture of electric blue and light violet toning. Pop 11; 9 finer, 6 in 66, and 3 in 67 (PCGS # 4492) .
Thirteen varieties. All Common except JR-4 and JR-12. This date is the first of five different years to have 10 or more die varieties (the others are 1821, 1827, 1829, and 1833). Dimes produced in 1820 were from eight obverse and nine reverse dies used in combination for 13 different varieties. The recorded mintage for the year was 942,587 coins. This piece is JR-2. While this is a scarce variety, it is extremely popular among early dime collectors due to the spectacularly amateurish recuttings on the reverse die, commonly called the "Office Boy" reverse. Among other blunders, it shows the remains of an earlier punch between D and S in UNITED STATES; recutting on the third T, which is too high; recutting on the bottoms of S O in STATES OF; clear reworking on the M in AMERICA; and joining of the ME nearby. It is little wonder that -- even in a Mint that was not overly concerned about blundered dies -- this reverse is unique to this die marriage.
Estimated Value $7,000 - 8,000.
|
| |
| Unsold |
