Gold & Silver Forum (http://goldismoney.info/forums/index.php)
- Prospecting (http://goldismoney.info/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=143)
- - half disme found, nets $11,500 (http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=188991)

Anty Ep | 10-16-2007 09:43 AM
half disme found, nets $11,500 great story at the stacks website of a 1792 half disme found with a metal detector!~ Quote:
Lot Detail << Return to Auction Search Session 5 is now closed http://www.stacks.com/img/pager-left.gif Prev Lot | Browse Lots | Lot# | Next Lot http://www.stacks.com/img/pager-right.gif Itemhttp://www.stacks.com/img-coin/AN76746621-oz.jpg http://www.stacks.com/img-coin/AN76746621-oz.jpg http://www.stacks.com/img/dot_clr.gif Show Reverse Large Photos Move your mouse over the image to zoom in.AUCTION:Brooklyn Sale & John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, XVII LOT #:111 Watch Item ITEM:1792 half disme. J-7, P-7. Rarity-4. GRADE:AG 3 STARTING BID:$7,250.00PRICE REALIZED:$11,500.00 HIGH BIDDER#: LIVE BIDDING:ClosedSTARTS IN *: *"Live Bidding" and "Starts In" times are approximate. Description 1792 half disme. J-7, P-7. Rarity-4. About Good-3 on the obverse, Fair-2 on the reverse. 18.0 grains. A truly fascinating specimen of this rarity. While any example is avidly sought and highly valued, this specimen meets anyone's definition of "fresh" to the marketplace, since it was only just discovered with a metal detector within the last year. The color is pleasing pale silver gray, a little darker near the rims. While some very light granularity is seen under magnification, the surfaces are far more pleasing than one would expect from a dug specimen, looking more or less like any other well worn silver coin of this era. Some faint hairlines are a by-product of the discovery process, though this piece is neither bright nor shows a "cleaned" look. A few diagonal pinscratches across the obverse portrait are old and shallow. A good deal of detail remains on the obverse, including a nice bold date and most of the legends; LIB PAR and INDUSTRY are especially bold. The portrait is nearly intact and some areas, such as the truncation of the hair, could perhaps be called Fine if graded in isolation. On the reverse, an old dent is visible left of the eagle above H of HALF. UNITED, H of HALF, D of DISME and the left wing are visible on the reverse, as well as portions of other peripheral legends. Most of the edge reeding remains clear. This is the second metal detector-discovered 1792 half disme we have handled and only the second we have ever heard of. The other piece, sharper but more granular, was discovered in a South Jersey tomato patch. This piece was discovered while relic hunting near Fredericksburg, Virginia at a construction site that is thought to have once served as a Confederate campground. Three dropped Confederate bullets found nearby the same day are included with this lot. From the wear on this piece, it may have circulated well into the 19th century. The locale in which it was discovered is evocative, since Jefferson took what was apparently the entire mintage of 1792 half dismes with him to Virginia upon leaving Philadelphia in the summer of 1792. Perhaps this one never left the Commonwealth again! With 1792 half dismes bringing such strong prices at auction in recent years, the chance to purchase an unassailably authentic specimen that was never holed or otherwise badly damaged has become very difficult for most collectors. While specimens may be obtained at six-figure sums, examples of this classic first circulation issue of the United States for the rest of us seemingly never turn up. The present specimen, with its interesting history, should see strong competition. Our consignor was kind enough to relate some of the story surrounding this coin's discovery: "On October 21, 2006 I topped my previous find of a lifetime. My hunting partner and I headed out just after sunrise to a construction site near Fredericksburg, Virginia to do some Civil War relic hunting. Our hunt started out good as we began to dig dropped bullets both Union and Confederate. After an hour or so several other relic hunters arrived to try their luck. I continued to find relics including a nice Union eagle button, however the area I was hunting became very quiet so I decided to move on to another area of the large site. I saw an area that had many holes dug from the previous weekend so I figured it must have been a nice hotspot. I knew my Minelab Explorer could get some signals that the other hunters machines couldn't reach. I started hunting this spot very slow listening for any good signals and right away I dug a dropped Confederate bullet, then another, and another. "A few minutes later I got a signal that IDed and sounded like a fourth Confederate bullet. I dug a hole with my relic shovel and checked to see if the bullet was still in the ground or in the dirt pile. It was still in the ground so I dug down some more, to about eight inches deep, and when I emptied my shovelful of dirt I was surprised to see a small silver coin sitting on top. My first thought was that I had dug a Spanish reale but when I picked it up and looked at the coin I realized it was American. I wasn't sure what I had dug. I knew I had seen this bust before but I couldn't remember where. I then looked real closely and saw the date 1792. I yelled and waved to my hunting partner for him to come take a look at what I had just found. He came over and said to me "You finally dug a gold coin." I said "no it's silver and it's old." "After looking and admiring my find we both went back to hunting. I couldn't concentrate much after that find and I kept pulling the coin back out and looking at it and finally I looked at the reverse and saw what I thought were the first couple letters of half dime. I then realized the date 1792 was before the U.S. started minting coins. I just knew I had seen the coin somewhere before. I just couldn't take it any more so I went to my truck to get my cell phone and called my wife. I asked her to get my coin book and look up a coin I had just found. She couldn't find it listed in the half dime section as the oldest coin there was 1794. I then realized I had dug something very special. I told her to go to the end of the colonial section and there it was 1792 half disme. That was the end of relic hunting for me that day. I went home and spent the rest of the day researching this coin. I was very surprised to find out its history and value." Illustrated in Coin World's November 27, 2006 issue; featured in Western and Eastern Treasures Magazine's Best Finds of 2006, the highest honor any metal detectorist can receive. Photoshttp://www.stacks.com/img-coin/AN76746621-oz.jpg http://www.stacks.com/img-coin/AN76746621-rz.jpg Place A BidLOT #:111 Watch ItemITEM:1792 half disme. J-7, P-7. Rarity-4. Bidding is closed for this lot.

madfranks | 10-16-2007 03:24 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Here's the guy who found it and his story, worth a good read! http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...c,54405.0.html

Anty Ep | 10-16-2007 03:46 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Quote:
Originally Posted by madfranks (Post 782109) Here's the guy who found it and his story, worth a good read! http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...c,54405.0.html
nice story .... Quote:
Back in October 2006 My buddy Dale and I went relic hunting at a freshly cleared construction site. The first few hours were fairly productive as we were digging both union and confederate bullets and a few buttons. The finds were becoming few and far between so I decided to move on to another area of the large site. I saw an area that had many holes dug from the previous weekends hunters so I thought I would see if they had missed anything. Right away I dug a deep Gardner bullet, then another, and another. A foot away I received another bullet signal on my Explorer and I dug a hole fully expecting another Gardner. I was shocked to see a small silver coin on top of my dirt pile. I picked up the coin and first thought it was a Spanish half reale. Then I looked more closely and realized it was an American coin and then I saw the date 1792. I wasn't sure what I was holding but it was old. I knew I had seen the bust before but where. I flipped the coin over and found the reverse very worn but I thought for sure I could read Half Disme. I called my buddy over and we looked at my find for a few minutes and then went back to detecting. I tried hunting some more but I couldn't concentrate. I just had to know what I found. I walked to my truck and called my wife. I asked her to get my red book and look up the coin I had just dug. She said that the half dimes started at 1793. Thats when I realized what I had dug. I told her to go to the colonial section and she found it. When she told me what it was worth I about died. Needless to say my day of digging was over. I spent the next few days searching the internet and learning about the history of the half disme. The half disme was the very first coin ever minted by the United States. The silver used in these coins was donated by George Washington mainly in the form of Martha's silver serving set. Three thousand 1792 half dismes were minted in a basement in Philadelphia. The US mint building was still under construction. After the coins were minted Thomas Jefferson personally took them to Monticello and then delivered them to George Washington at Mt. Vernon. From there George gave many to friends and dignitaries and many others were put into circulation. Between 250 and 300 1792 half dismes are known to exist today. I never thought I would ever dig a very rare coin and I had no idea what to do. I consulted with many people and received lots of good advice. I first had it authenticated and then came the hard decision as to sell it or keep it. I knew that coin prices were at their peek and there was always the chance that more 1792 half dismes could be found and come on the market which would drop the price. I also thought that such an historical coin did nobody any good sitting in my safe. It needed to be in a major collectors collection or in a museum. I decided to consign my half disme to Stacks Rare Coins in NY City and it was auctioned off at the Baltimore Coin Auction in March. Do I regret selling it? Not really. I have the memories, the pictures, the Coin World article, and the W&ET Best Finds issues and award. My advice to anyone who digs a valuable coin or relic is this. Seek advice from reputable people. Dint rush into anything. Be prepared to make a very hard decision, to sell or not. And if you decide to sell do your homework. Ebay is not the place for rare coins. Go with a trusted and reputable auction firm such as Stacks. Thank you for looking and I hope everyone someday makes their find of a lifetime. Marc

Bimetallist | 10-17-2007 11:27 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Thats always been one of my favorite coins because and according to the Red Book George Washington provided about $100 dollars in value of his personal silver for the first mintage of 1500 1792 half-dismes to be made in the month of July 1792 and they were the first coins ever struck by the US MINT! Well since 1500 coins is only $75 its very possible that the silver for that exact coin came from Washington. The only question mark is that Disme production also probably started at that time or shortly afterward. Incrdible.

drafter | 10-17-2007 11:42 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 How long do you think that coin must have been in circulation considering the wear? Are the deep scratches from cleaning or normal wear and tear? The back almost looks as if its been scrubbed with a wire brush. Still an awesome find.

Wyldwil | 10-17-2007 11:58 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Call me crazy. I fully realize how rare those coins are but...... I wouldn't want to own such an ugly coin.

Bimetallist | 10-18-2007 12:00 AM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Its hard to say but many years, I thought I read somewhere online that some of the scratching came from the recovery but I can't find it again.

AuNuggets | 10-18-2007 11:20 AM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Appears to be old damage from the dark toning down inside the scratches. Very cool find, even if the condition isn't the greatest. I can only imagine digging one of those up with a metal detector.

CyberGold | 10-22-2007 10:55 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 I used to metal detect in NY and Va. Finding any silver in Va is difficult at best. Those scratches appear to be old cuz if they were from the recovery they would be shiney. My two oldest finds are a 1787 spanish real and a 1757 Hibernia large cent (used to pay the red coats). One of my nicest is a 1878-CC seated dime in XF. Up by Manassas and the battle of Bull Run (1st Manassas to y'all) I dug a Georgia Box Plate - looked like a horse stepped on it - traded it for a double eagle. Its amazing what you can find, but its getting harder with the no-dig and relic laws so prevelent nowadays. He made an exceptional find.

fred333 | 12-07-2007 03:26 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 That is a great story. Wish I was that lucky.

Dave Thomas | 12-12-2007 11:02 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 I betcha he was sad that he used a screwdriver to probe for the target haha!

Reno Chris | 12-17-2007 06:36 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Quote:
I betcha he was sad that he used a screwdriver to probe for the target haha!
The big scratches are dark and show oxidation. This is bacause they are old. If the finder had made them with some sharp object while recovering the target, they would show bright, fresh silvery metal. Long ago when this coin was lost it was probably considered practicly worthless. I have an 1804 dime in much, much better condition. It has a deep gouge over the date so that you can barely read it. If not for the gouge that coin would be worth $1000+ Almost no one collected coins back then. Old obsolete coins were like junk. Chris

Anty Ep | 12-17-2007 09:16 PM
Re: half disme found, nets $11,500 Quote:
Originally Posted by CyberGold (Post 791934) I used to metal detect in NY and Va. Finding any silver in Va is difficult at best. .
FInding old coins like this in the Midwest is nigh impossible. White man's money didnt even see much use until 1820s, most places in Indiana or Illinois. My little suburb was cornfields fifteen years ago, and before that another hundred fifty when white men cleared the trees and planted the fields. No coins round here dude. LOL

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:47 PM. |

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright = None use it and Link to GIM