An exciting collection of nineteenth and twentieth century error coins will be offered in Heritage's official ANA Signature Auction taking place in Pittsburgh, August 18-21 at the ANA's World's Fair of Money. Several dozen unusual error coins have been assembled by numismatist Larry Rausch. These are the first coins he has ever sold in a lifetime of collecting. Mr. Rausch started collecting at the age of ten, in 1958. His father was a vest pocket dealer during the 1960s, and as might be expected of the times, invested heavily in rolls, many of which Mr. Rausch still holds. Every week he searched $50 in cents gathered from parking meters, with several finds nice enough to be mentioned in Coin World. Through his high school years, he accompanied his father to many small shows in the Midwest. He noted the occasional error coin at these shows, and his collection started when he traded with his father for a group of 31 Liberty Seated Dimes (purchased for $34.10 from a collector). Incidentally, he still owns these Liberty Seated Dimes. Larry Rausch's collection of error coins is especially strong in the popular and desirable Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cent series, and the Buffalo Nickels. Many collectors search for years for the kinds of dramatic errors seen in this collection without much success, and perhaps the most dramatic example in these series is lot 8336, a 1920 (mintmark unknown) Buffalo Nickel struck 40% off center on a cent planchet. Graded MS64BN by PCGS, this coin obviously caught the attention of the first person to find it and has retained its full luster in the intervening years. Another fascinating coin is cataloged as an Undated 1C Indian cent--Uniface Obverse on Half Dime Planchet. That the coin is uniface is obvious when looking at it, but it is actually the reverse of an Indian Head Cent that appears on this Half Dime planchet, yet since the coin is struck on one side only the struck side becomes technically the obverse. This coin was likely struck with an Indian Head Cent planchet also in the collar, resulting in the potential of a corresponding Indian Head Cent with a nearly blank reverse when struck. Since the Half Dime series was ended in 1873, this coin would have been produced no later than that date, and the die characteristics of the reverse suggest that the coin was produced before 1870. This mint state coin resides in a PCGS holder and is graded MS63. The Larry Rausch Collection includes coins of denominations and types ranging from Indian Cents to Morgan Dollars, with the types of errors ranging from off-center strikes to wrong planchets to multiple strikes. Connoisseurs of error coins will find a wealth of material in this collection to fit their interests. Other highlights in this collection include: 1857 Flying Eagle Cent--Struck 25% Off Center--XF45 PCGS 1858 Small Letters Flying Eagle cent-Struck 7% Off Center--VF25 PCGS 1859 Indian Cent--Struck 35% Off Center--MS63 PCGS 1864 Bronze No L Indian Cent--Struck 70% Off Center--MS63 Brown PCGS 1879 Indian Cent--Struck 35% Off Center--MS65 Brown PCGS. 1885 Indian cent--Struck 50% Off Center--XF40 PCGS Undated Type Two Indian cent--Struck 60% Off Center--MS64 Red and Brown PCGS. 1858 Type Two Three Cent Silver--Struck 20% Off Center--VF20 PCGS 1866 With Rays Shield Nickel--Double Struck, Second Strike 20% Off Center--VF20 PCGS 1890 Liberty Nickel on Cent planchet, VG8 ANACS 1906 Liberty Nickel on Cent planchet, MS63 Brown PCGS 1913 Buffalo Nickel 10% Off Center and Cracked Planchet, MS64 PCGS 1920 Buffalo Nickel 75% Off Center and Indented Reverse, MS63 PCGS 1925 Buffalo Nickel 20% Off Center, MS64 PCGS 1934 Buffalo Nickel on Cent Planchet, MS63 Brown PCGS 1856 Seated Half Dimes Struck 20% Off Center, Fine 12 PCGS 1855 Arrows Seated Dimes struck 10% Off Center, VF20 PCGS 1858 Seated Dime struck 20% Off Center, VF35 PCGS 1873 Arrows Seated Dime struck 12% Off Center, AU55 PCGS 1876-CC Seated Dime 5% Off Center, XF45 PCGS 1887 Seated Dime 10% Off Center, MS63 PCGS 1889 Seated Dime 12% Off Center, AU55 PCGS 1890 Seated Dime 20% Off Center MS63 PCGS 1891 Seated Dime, Double Struck, second 90% Off Center, AU50 PCGS 1891 Seated Dime 15% Off Center, AU58 PCGS N.D. Mercury Dime Double Struck, second 25% Off Center, XF45 PCGS 1861 Seated Quarter 15% Off Center, AU58 PCGS 1875-S Seated Half Dollar 15% Off Center, AU58 PCGS 1900-S Barber Half Dollar 7% Off Center, AU58 PCGS 1918 Walking Liberty Half Dollar 10% Off Center, MS64 PCGS 1883-O Morgan Dollar 10% Off Center, MS64 PCGS

The Judd-1993, one of several different varieties of 1916 Walking Liberty half dollars in existence, features LIBERTY in large letters in the right obverse field. The reverse is very similar to the final version of the Walker design with only minor differences, which may explain how this item circulated for so long before some astute observer noticed. While there is some dispute whether six or seven 1916 varieties exist, pedigree research by Saul Teichman on his uspatterns.com website indicates that only about 20 examples of all different varieties are currently known. Five of these are in the Smithsonian Institution, leaving a net available population of just 15 patterns.

This particular pattern variety is extremely rare, with only one example previously known to Saul Teichman. This is a second example of the variety, apparently not previously known within numismatic circles. According to current research, it is believed that this variety was struck somewhere between August 21 and September 20, 1916 (as reported by Dave Bowers in the eighth edition of the Judd reference from the research of Roger Burdette).

Mint Director Robert Woolley discussed the design in his annual report for the fiscal year ending June 1916: "The obverse of the half dollar bears a full length figure of Liberty with a background of the American flag flying to the breeze. The goddess is striding toward the dawn of a new day, carrying laurel and oak branches, symbolic of civic and military glory. The reverse shows an eagle perched high up on a mountain crag, wings unfolded. Growing from a rift in the rock is a sapling of mountain pine, symbolic of America."

While well circulated, this example is highly attractive with completely natural grayish-silver surfaces and pale heather highlights. On the reverse, a tiny rim bruise is visible over ER of AMERICA; however, the balance of the surface on each side is nearly flawless. For the pattern specialist, this is an extremely important opportunity, as is any offering of a 1916 pattern coin, regardless of the denomination. Dave Bowers noted: "Under the best of circumstances, the pattern specialist is unlikely to encounter patterns of this date except when specialized collections are brought to market. Even then, only a few pieces are likely to be offered."

The Judd-1993 variety was not listed in previous editions of the Judd reference, however it is similar to the older Judd-1797a listing, except for the addition of Adolph A. Weinman's AW monogram on the reverse.

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In the latter part of the first decade of the 19^th century there was a general redesign of US coinage. Out went the older draped bust and heraldic eagle designs, and in came the Capped Bust designs for silver and gold coinage. For copper coinage, the change was to a Classic Head design, with a woman's head (possibly Dolley Madison's?) adorned by only a ribbon inscribed with the word LIBERTY.

The changeover did not take place all at once, in part because at the time the mint only manufactured coins for which there were actual orders. While Half Dollars and Half Eagles were changed to the new design as soon as 1807, Cents and Quarter Eagles followed in 1808, Half Cents and Dimes in 1809, and Quarters in 1815. Half Dimes never saw the revised design until the introduction of the closed collar in 1829, while no Eagles or Silver Dollars were ever produced with these designs, which explains in part why the King of Siam Proof Set, made in 1834, contains 1804-dated coins of these two denominations.

Demand for half cents was not initially high, and mintage of the Classic Head type was intermittent. No coins of the type were made between 1811 and 1825. Half Cents were produced in for most of the rest of the 1820's, but were dormant after 1829.

As mentioned earlier, the closed collar manufacturing process had been introduced by this time for smaller silver coins, and the combination of this process with a large order for Half Cents resulted in a redesign of the Half Cent dies in 1831. A few coins bearing the date 1831 were struck, mostly as proofs, and for many years the date was only known as a proof. The image to the left is an example of the reverse of one such piece, in this case an impaired proof. Because collectors in later years wanted coins of the date, two different types of restrikes were also minted, possibly as late as the 1850's, and all as proofs. The first such restrike, pictured to the right, has a similar reverse to the original, but can be determined by positional differences in the lettering. Note in particular the location of the second S in STATES in comparison with the wreath. The second, pictured above, was minted with the reverse used on half cents of 1840-1857, which is easily differentiated from the prior reverse by the absence of a line under the word CENT.

All 1831 half cents are rare, with perhaps 50 or so known of all varieties and substantially fewer having been graded by the major services. Heritage has sold only two of these coins at auction in the past - a coin in 1997 very similar in grade and appearance to the Original pictured above, although not the same coin, and the First Restrike pictured above in 2002. The other two coins pictured here are up for auction now as lots 5065 and 5066 in the current ANA Signature auction.

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The heritagecoins.com MyCollection feature is a great tool for keeping track of your collection. You can enter virtually any US coin and the feature will keep track of both the coin and the current Numismedia wholesale value, and you can print out the collection or download it to Excel at your leisure. In addition, any coin you buy from Heritage will be automatically added, along with purchase price information and the Heritage image of the coin.

When you buy coins from Heritage, they are added to MyCollection in a collection entitled Coins From Heritage. If you have already put together a collection under another name and wish to keep track of all of your coins regardless of source, it is quite easy to move coins from one collection to another.

Here we have two coins in a Coins From Heritage collection - a 1921 dime graded ANACS AG3 and a 1878-S dollar graded NGC MS64. To move the dollar into the collection entitled "Fred," click on the checkbox to the left of the appropriate coin. Then go to the box at the bottom of the page entitled "Move Selected Items to this Collection," and choose the collection you wish the coin to move to. Once you have checked all the coins you wish to move and chosen the destination collection, just click on the "Go" button in the "Move Selected Items to this Collection" box. The coin will immediately take up residence in the collection you chose.

Because of the quantity of information that is automatically provided when you buy a coin from Heritage, this is an ideal method of entering your coin in your main collection without losing any information.

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Trends: A shorthand term referring to prices published in Coin World's Coin Values magazine, included monthly along with the weekly Coin World periodical. These are retail prices, or what you might expect a coin dealer to ask for the coin, and prices cover US Federal coinage in a dizzying array of grades.

Greysheet: Refers both to the Coin Dealer Newsletter and the coin prices published therein. The Coin Dealer Newsletter is published weekly and is generally the first thing a dealer will look to when trying to price a coin. Not all coins are covered in every issue; values are published in periods ranging from weekly for the most popular coins to every three months for individual coins in seldom-collected series. The Greysheet covers wholesale prices for sight-seen coins, covers a good selection of grades, and sticks virtually only to US Federal coinage, with the exception being World gold that is traded without regard to date. The Bluesheet and Greensheet, also published by CDN, give wholesale prices for certified (slabbed) sight-unseen coins by grading service, and for US paper currency, respectively.

Krause: Generally refers to world coin prices as published in the Standard Catalog of World Coins, published by Krause Publications. The book is also referred to as "Krause" or as the Phone Book, in reference to its size. Printed in four volumes, this book covers most world coins dating from 1600 and later. Prices are retail. For the most part grades do not drop below Fine and uncirculated coins generally are not differentiated by grade, although Canadian and US coins will have somewhat more complete listings of prices by grade.

Red Book: Also known as A Guide Book of United States Coins, the Red Book is a source for retail prices on US Federal coinage, US Colonial coinage, US Territorial coinage, Hawaiian coinage, Philippine coinage minted under the sovereignty of the US, and some commonly collected tokens. This book does a great job of covering basic numismatic information such as the location of mintmarks, and it probably covers more varieties than any other common price guide, with many varieties accompanied by pictures. Prices are retail (a wholesale counterpart is known as the Blue Book), and the book has historically done a better job of covering circulated grades than higher grades. The 2005 edition, however, has added AU prices in many series for the first time, and as a result I expect the 2005 book to sell very well.

To be sure, these price guides and others are merely guides, and any coin is worth what an informed buyer will pay for it. The Heritage Permanent Auction Archives are a treasure trove of information about actual transaction prices, not to mention the coins themselves, and experienced numismatists will often research these archives before determining what they wish to pay for a coin.

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