1820 Capped Bust Dime. JR-4. Rarity-4+. Small 0. MS-64 (PCGS).This is a brilliant 1820 dime, with just the faintest champagne highlights noted from certain vantage points. The luster is comprehensive, appearing more coarse near the borders and finely satiny near the centers across the design elements. Evidence of fatigue is apparent to the obverse die, though the detail remains pleasantly sharp. A trace of swelling is seen at stars 2-4 and the peripheral devices feature scattered thin die breaks to the rim. This handsome dime combines strong aesthetics with technical quality. The JR-4 variety is among the rarest of the 13 known die marriages for the 1820 issue. The authors of Early United States Dimes called it "decidedly rare and quite difficult to find in any condition," when writing in 1984. Thirty years of subsequent cherrypicking has failed to uncover any significant quantity of specimens. Writing in their 2015 Bust Dime Variety Identification Guide, specialists Zack, Scuderi, and Sherrill emphasize that locating examples of JR-4 "in grades above VF is very difficult." The Norweb-Lovejoy specimen was offered as Very Fine with problems in our (Stacks) October 1990 auction, and the "JR" plate coin is an impressive EF-40 (PCGS). The present MS-64 (PCGS) example represents a virtually unthinkable level of preservation for this variety, ranking as second finest known just behind an NGC MS-65 example. It is an incredibly significant specimen for early dime specialists that hasnt been offered at public auction for over 16 years.PCGS Population (JR-4 attribution only): 1; 0 finer.Ex Superiors ANA Auction of August 2002, lot 1579.
