“Two overdated obverse dies and two reverse dies were used to strike the three varieties for this year.” — Early United States Dimes, 1796-1837, 1984 Deeply toned and luxuriantly lustrous, the D. Brent Pogue 1823/2 JR-1 is among the very finest survivors from these dies. Olive gray blends with hints of blue, dark gold, and pale rose over both sides, turning to champagne and silver gray where the luster is brightest. The peripheries are well defined on both sides and the typical central softness is confined to Liberty’s ear curls and cap tip on the obverse and the eagle’s head and talons on the reverse. The overdate aspect is bold and easy to see. A short scratch on the back of the eagle’s head may remain from before striking, otherwise only some trivial hairlines are noted on the surfaces under magnification. The toning appears a bit spotty in areas, including beneath the bust truncation and in the field below UNITED, a blessing of originality more than a distraction to the excellent aesthetic appeal. The denticles over star 10 show die crumbling, though the dies appear otherwise perfect. A short linear die defect is noted above the topmost arrowhead. At least four different obverse dies were produced bearing the date 1822. One of these was used in 1822, creating the only die marriage to bear that date. Another was overdated 1824 and employed to strike both varieties of 1824 dimes, which were actually coined in 1825. In between, two 1822 obverses were converted for use in 1823, producing all three die varieties struck this year. The JR-1 variety is the only Small Es variety of the year. Though adjudged by the authors of the JR book to be significantly scarcer than the JR-3, the more common of the two Large Es varieties, the PCGS population of the Small Es is actually slightly larger. The Bareford coin, cited as the finest known example in the JR book, is not among the three MS-65 examples certified by PCGS, nor has it sold in recent years, suggesting it may have been graded at a lower grade, determined to be ungradeable, or remains uncertified. No PCGS MS-65 example of this variety has ever sold at public auction, and the only records of an NGC MS-66 selling at auction both refer to this coin. PCGS# 4498. NGC ID: 2372.
