1834 - McCloskey 2-C       R7

Diagnostic Features

Obverse: Block style 8; tall 1; long center arc on 3.
Reverse: Upper leaf not under U in UNITED; 5 is 80% under arrow feather; D is 80% under branch.

Notes

Also Breen 6506; third head; large date.

Variety occurs as a proof issue. (PCGS PR67+DC, 4-24-16, Stacks-Bowers, lot #4052. This is the Parmelee-Newcomer-Green-Farouk-Pittman-Pogue specimen.) Breen reports that there are three known examples (one impaired) and that Wayte Raymond knew of an additional. The Smithsonian collection example is also this die-pair variety.

Coin illustrated is NGC 58 (CAC approved) acquired from Douglas Winter Numismatics. It is Krauss reverse die state ii (see below), with the die crack extending up to, but not quite reaching, the eagle's beak.

Krauss die states

Information provided below is from the article by Eric Krauss in the December 2017 issue of the JRCS journal (v.27, issue 3, 25-37).

Obverse: Perfect dies.

Reverse:

• state i: Perfect dies.
• state ii: A crack starts at the junction of the upper edge of the eagle's left (facing) wing and the shield and ends in the field between the first S and the first T of STATES.
• state iii: The crack continues to the rim between the first S and first T of STATES.

@Mark S. Ghiorso, ClassicHalfEages.com, December 2017