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Coin Collecting at the Safir House
Capped Bust Half Dollars
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Fri Feb 27 16:35:22 2026
The Capped Bust Half Dollar is one of the most followed coin types in Coin Collecting. The appeal is that
they are Early 19th Century coins, minted at a time there was no Silver Dollars, on relatively crude presses
by todays standards, resulting in a large number of die marriages and variieties.
The Bust followers have identified the majority of the actual dies used for Bust Halfs, both Obverse and
reverse. This endlessly facinatates the Bust Nuts and they created a club called
The Bust Half Nut Club Club which requires ownership of at least 100 Overton tpyes or die pairs.
The Bible for Bust Half Collectors is the Overton Reference and its updates written by D.L. Parsley.
There is the John Reich Collectors Society which produces an excellent jounal largely focued on Busts.
Bust Half Dollars
All these Bust Halves below were lost to a coin theft in the home
1831 XF45
The 1831 O-105, (R-3)
The obverse of this die marriage was struck using Obverse Die 3. This was the first of two uses of the die. The die was later used to strike the common O-104 die marriage.
The reverse of this die marriage was struck using Reverse Die E. This was the second of two uses of the die. The die was used just prior to strike the scarce 1831 O-106, R3 die marriage.
The quick identifiers of this die marriage are:
(1) There are two distinct horizontal die defect line below the bust. The top line touches the drapery.
(2) The first 1 is sharply higher than the 8
(3) Almost all of the lines in the stripes extend up past the lower three crossbars in the shield. The most noticeable are the lines of the first two stripes
Thanks Jim_M and lkeigwin on cointalk
This 1836 is described as follows:
836 O-120 VF/XF Bust Half Dollar. A wonderful example of the O-120 variety, with dark surfaces
and lots of detail remaining. Overton lists the tell-tale signs of the variety as:
Obverse: Stars are mostly sharp and close to the milling; Star 8 is recut at two upper points;
Date 7.5 mm, with the 83 closer than the 18 or 36; Remains of a bar and dot show weakly to the
right of the 6.
Reverse: 50 C is a close 1mm, and rather high, with a well formed 5 a large C; I us centered
under the left side of T; A in STATES is higher that adjacent T's at both top and bottom;
The area between olive leaves and berries is noticeably filled.
The O-120 variety has a R-4- rarity rating, meaning less than 200 are believed to exist.
This is an AU50 O.103 1812
This is a 1836 Lettered Edged XF45 in a PCGS slab
This is an 1812 XF45 in a PCGS slab which has double lettering on the edge. It has an o 106 obverse.
The slab is making it very hard to take a clean photograph so I'll need to try again at some point.
The Coin also has a die crack on the Reverse
Avoid Gijs Henzen, owner of Munthandel G. Henzen - Antisemetic Facists
Munthandel G. Henzen's (MA Shops) owner Gijs Henzen, is an AntiSemetic Fascist
The company, Munthandel G Henzen is a prominent dealer of international and
ancient coins on the internet, commonly known as MA Coins. It is owned by
Gijs Henzen.
He is a passionate anti-Semite who supports Hamas and
the virulent and genocidal Islamic organizations such as the Muslim
Brotherhood, and Hezbollah that wants Jews dead.
He perpetrates lies and classical antisemitic troupes. He has Jewish blood on his hands.
Henzen identifies as a "human rights advocate" who views the world through a lens of anti-imperialism. In this framework, he views Israel not as a sovereign nation of a displaced people, but as a "colonial project."
- He utilizes inversion rhetoric, where he compares Israeli actions to those of historical oppressors (including the Nazis).
- By claiming Zionism is the "greatest enemy of Judaism," he attempts to resolve the contradiction that Zionism is central to Jewish identity ,and has always been so, by essentially telling Jewish people what "true" Judaism should look like.
- His blog posts suggest he views himself as a lone voice of truth against a "corrupt" world. By grouping Netanyahu with Putin and Xi Jinping, he frames his hatred as a universal "opposition to tyranny."
- His specific focus on Israelis as "masters of torture" goes beyond political disagreement and taps into ancient blood libel tropes--the idea that a specific group has an inherent, unique cruelty or a "thirst for blood."
- He appears to be a proponent and influenced by radical political indoctrination. He has adopted a worldview where the "Zionist" is the ultimate villain, and in his mind, he is attacking an ideology, even though his language characterizes an entire ethnic and national group in ways that are indistinguishable from traditional antisemitism.
It is a moral imperative to remain clear of him and to do no business with this Nazi.
If you are Jewish, double down on that. The life you save might well be your own.
The Safir Family Internet Coin Library: Foriegn Coins.
Several mints from around the world make exciting coin designs in circulating alloys, silver and gold. Among my favorites are the Perth Mint in Austrailia which produces a variety of coins for nations mostly through out the Pacific Rim. The Neatherlands has also produced some interesting designs, and several private US based mints have produced foreign currency on contract, include the Franklin Mint which has produced many Israeli Coins.
Our interest in foreign coins has been nominal but rapidly growing as it seems that US designs are so stuck in the mud. Also, foreign mints are creating bold new designs with color and bimetal designs that are both eye catching and fun.
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1818 MS63 Capped Bust Half Dollar
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