Classic Head Half Eagles by die pairing

描述: A number of years ago, I purchased a Classic Head Half Eagle as a type coin. Once I read some research by John McCloskey in "America's Gold Coinage, Coinage of the Americas Conference", I became intrigued and started collecting by die pairing. Before I made too many mistakes, I was fortunate to meet Daryl Haynor who was about to publish the standard reference on the series. Through discussions with Daryl and use of his book, I've improved my skills at discerning die pairings but perhaps more importantly, determine what the coins should look like.
With the purchase of the 1836 HM-9 in Mr. Haynor’s recent auction at Stack’s Bowers, I believe I have assembled the only fully graded PCGS set of all 34 die pairings in the Classic Head Half Eagle series.
In the coin descriptions below, I indicate certification by CAC, if appropriate, the HM Number, the die state, if apparent, and the rarity as determined by Daryl Haynor. The description that follows has the Obverse number (these are unique for each year) and the Reverse letter (these frequently span years). The obverses and reverses are frequently paired in different combinations. This designation scheme was developed by Daryl Haynor based on a prior scheme published by John McCloskey. With each number and letter, I provide a quick means of identifying the coin. When a die was only used in one die pairing, I indicate that the die’s usage is unique to this pair. Click on the Image Gallery for comparative views of all the coins.
For more details about these coins and the history of gold coins in this era, I VERY strongly recommend purchase of Daryl Haynor’s “Classic Gold Coins of 1834-1839”, the 2020 NLG Book of the Year. It is a fantastic read as well as the “bible” for all Classic Head Gold coinage.
Carlos Cabrera of Crescent City Numismatics has been particularly helpful finding high grade examples of the coins I need and has become my "go-to" dealer for this series.